Every year, millions of dogs and cats are killed for their meat, making the trade arguably one of the most severe companion animal welfare issues in Southeast Asia.
Dogs and cats are stolen from their owners and snatched from communities across Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These animals are transported long distances, often lasting days, and are killed using gruesome methods such as drowning, blowtorching, electrocution, and beating. While incredibly cruel for the animals, the trade also presents a significant public health threat, most notably in the form of rabies, and provides an ideal environment for the emergence of other diseases.
Given the growing global concern about the trade as a driver of zoonotic disease, the dog and cat meat trade places both local people and visitors to the region at risk and subsequently could deter international tourists.
We invite you to contact the National Tourism Boards of Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam within their respective embassies in the U.S. and ask them to end this trade as a matter of priority.
FOUR PAWS is committed to bringing an end to the cruel dog and cat meat trade in Southeast Asia through government collaboration, working with local animal welfare groups, supporting local stray animal care programs, helping local communities care for their pets, animal rescues, and bringing local and international awareness to the trade.