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Eating Dog and Cat Dog meat (Thịt chó) Dog meat is consumed throughout Vietnam to varying degrees of acceptability, though more predominantly in the north. There are multiple dishes featuring dog meat, and they often include the head, feet and internal organs. On Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat, often imitating each other. Dog meat restaurants can be found throughout the country. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. Dog meat is supposed to raise the libido and is sometimes considered unsuitable for women; in other words, eating dog meat can serve as a male bonding exercise. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for women to eat dog meat. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Like most of the world where dogs are kept as pets, Vietnamese people generally consider the use of dogs for food to be a social taboo. On personal level, I would never eat dog and cat; however I don't morally condemn the culture that allows it for nutritional reason, as long as the animals are dispatched humanly with minimum suffering. I found a Blog on this subject very interesting: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/2007/04/24/lunch/ |
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