You know the phrase ‘you’re so cute I could just eat you up’ that you squeal at babies and animals? In Asia, that phrase is somewhat more literal. The sale and consumption of cat and dog meat is not a taboo in Asia, this we know. But finally, one Island is taking a stance against animal cruelty. Taiwan has become the first country in Asia to ban the consumption of cat and dog meat.
The sale of cat and dog meat for economic purposes was banned back in 2001, but you could readily consume any canine you wanted until now. The new bill, as part of the Animal Protection Act, states that anyone caught consuming the now banned meat could face fines between 50,000 to 250,000 new Taiwan dollars (£1,300- £6,500). Plus, the government will also publicise the names and pictures of offenders. Not only that, but punishments for deliberate harm to animals also increased- doubling the maximum prison term to two years and raising the fine to a maximum of 2 million Taiwan dollars (£52,000).
It’s a huge step forward in the fight against animal cruelty, which in Asia continues to be a long hard slog for activists. Yulin, Guangxi sits 673 miles west of Taiwan, and is home to the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival which has been heavily protested against for years, with 5 million signatures of support on charge.org. While millions of Chinese people voted in support of legislation to ban the dog meat trade in China, more than ten million dogs are still thought to be killed across the country each year.
According to Humane Society International, countries that continue to consume canine meat include China, South Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and northern India. It’s not just Asia though, the practice still exists in parts of Switzerland and Africa. While most of these countries do have laws against selling dog and cat meat, the consumption of it is less controversial. So, what’s so different about Taiwan?
The country has experienced an almost gentrification of attitudes to animals, with more people owning dogs and cats as pets as oppose to having them as their next meal. But that final push to outlaw consumption may have come from the string of animal cruelty scandals in the last year. In February, Chien Chih-cheng, a 32-year-old vet, committed suicide after having to euthanise hundreds of stray dogs, as thousands are abandoned each year. This sparked the law to ban animal euthanasia in Taiwan.
In 2016, a video went viral of Taiwanese marines hanging a stray puppy over a seawall and throwing its body into the ocean. Public protests caused an investigation and ultimately a public apology from the defence minister. Then, in October, a student was sentenced to ten months in prison after beating two stray cats to death.
Each of these controversies are a stain on Taiwan’s reputation, especially since President Tsai Ing-wen vowed to increase animal protections when she entered office last year. She is an animal-lover herself, owning three retired guide dogs and two cats.
Of course, this isn’t to say that in order for other Asian countries to follow suit in this ban there should be a series of terrible controversies. You would hope that it doesn’t have to come to that for animals to be properly protected by law. However, the new ban does reflect an increase in the animal protection movement across Asia.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.