Wow. I really did expect this thread to be full of people screaming about how awful the thought of eating dogs was. I wondered how much heat I'd take for suggesting that we not base our morality on how cute an animal is.

That said, there should be further regulation on conditions for dogs. But then again there should be further regulation on all animal farming industries across the world.

I believe most of the people in this thread are against eating dogs, but there is one common feeling I've got from most posts.  There is one thing worse than eating dogs, people telling other people what they can not do.

it is not my place to tell a culture that eating traditional food is bad....i personally dont like the idea of it but then again i wasnt rasied with it

 *Sigh* Did you read my post? it's the way dogs are farmed for their meat that's wrong. All animals that are farmed for meat get a bad hand in life because commercial needs requires them to have a poor quality of life. However, even though they have a poor quality of life it is nothing compared to what dogs that are farmed for their meat is like.

They don't roam fields like a cow or have a quick death like a chicken.

Out of all the animals that get farmed dogs have it worse than any other animal. But what is really bad is that a dog has to be continuously pulverised for 3 or 4 days before it dies so that the meat is soft and tender. They hang them upside down and give them an occaional beating until they die. We treat animals bad, but how dogs are treated in farming is something else, way worse than veal.

 But those aren't necessary conditions of farming dog meat. There's a big difference between saying something is done wrong and saying that it is inherently wrong. Most of those practices are a result of lax laws and regulations. In any country, Livestock is treated only as well as a nation's laws dictate. And even then there are often lapses. And if it is particularly worse on dog farms, that's because there is no set of checks and balances because it's considered illegal but not enforced. 

 If dog meat was legalized, then dog farms would be subject to the same rules for hygiene, worker safety and animal cruelty as other agricultural industries. 

good point stof.

i guess that this issue is close to me. I own a shar pei, a very rare breed of dog because it was used for its meat until only 13 of them were left in the 40s. all shar peis are decended from those few.

Wow highway, How'd you end up with such a rare breed? Or have things rebounded somewhat recently?

I'm opposed to the thought of a delicious dog leg sandwich with a side of tail. I don't care how delicious it would taste with pickles and mayonnaise. I just don't see why it's necessary for us (I'm American) to try to impose our will over an already developed nation. I find the thought of dog farms horrific (unless the dogs get to wear overalls and little straw hats. Then, it's cute), but there are lots of cultural differences that I don't agree with. Where do we draw the line?

umm why isnt it legal?

@ Stof - Apparently heir are 70,000 of them in the world now. My parents wanted a dog 11 years ago and they brought Chester for a hell of a lot of money. He is 11 now and pretty old but he is the most lovable dog ever. He kinda looks like this dog...

http://www.operationscarlet.com/Andre.jpg


I have some history about them here - I thought it was farming that nearly got the extinct but apparently it was tax according to this site... I've heard otherwise.

Source: http://www.dog-breed-facts.com/Breeds/Shar-Pei.html

History:

The lineage of the Chinese Shar-Pei can be traced back to the Han Dynasty when they found works of art featuring very similar appearing dogs. Some historians believe the breed was descended from a much larger (now extinct) Tibetan breed and others believe it is related to the Service Dogs of Southern China. This hunting and herding dog was also known as the Chinese Fighting Dog, not because of its ferocity, but because it’s loose skin made it a formidable opponent in a dog fight. While the opponent dog grabbed the loose skin, the Shar Pei could turn within the skin and bite its attacker. Shar Pei means something like “draping sandpaper skin” in Chinese. Like many Chinese dog breeds, Shar Peis almost became extinct when the Chinese Communist government imposed a steep dog tax in 1947 and their numbers sharply declined. The breed survived in Hong Kong, Taiwan and British Columbia, Canada. The Chinese Shar-Pei is ranked 45th out of 154 dog breeds registered by the AKC in 2005.