Dear Editor,
I am here to write about my opinion about dog-eating should be banned and respond to Pat Chan’s letter entitled ‘supporting dog-meat eating’ dated May 2.
First of all, I would like to rebut the arguments of Miss Chan. Miss Chan claimed that dog meat has nutritional value, therefore it is acceptable for us to eat dog-meat. Yet I hold reservation on her claim. Is it justified to eat something because it has nutritional value? Human flesh also contains lots of nutrients, such as protein. However, we do not kill human being as a mean to satisfy one’s physical need as we have build up a relationship with each other. I truly believe that human beings are compassionate that we will not kill each other in order to obtain nutrients. Similarly, we should not eat dogs to satisfy our physical need for they have nutritional value since dogs are human’s best friends. The relationships between human beings and dogs have been established. Therefore, it is not reasonable for us to eat dog-meat just because of its nutritional value.
Besides, Miss Chan argued that there is no difference between dogs and other animals and it is not ‘cruel’ and ‘inhumane’ for us to eat dogs alone. However, I disagree with what Miss Chan said. Dogs are more than animals that they serve us. They serve humans, some are guide dogs or doctor dogs. Also, they give mental support to us. They do not just comfort and motivate the dog owners, but also the patients and needy in the society. So dogs are not just animals, but men’s best friends and we need them.
Moreover, dogs which are served as good are treated badly before they are butchered. According to some researchers, many of these dogs are stolen from their owners or fetched from the streets inhumanely. Some people may say that if dog-eating is unethical, then people should not eat pork or beef too as they are also animals. Why is eating beef or pork tolerated while eating dog-meat is brutal? It is because of the sources of the meat. Pork and beef are reared in farms while dogs are slaughtered are mostly stolen from the owners. The rest of the source are come from some torturous and inhumane prisons of dog meat farms where they suffer and are eaten. As a result, dog-meat eating is unethical and people who eat dog-meat will be regarded as cold-blooded.
Some people may say dog-meat eating is a tradition of many Asian societies. Yet, traditions are not necessarily good. For instance, a long time ago, girls in China had to bind their feet since they were young to make their feet smaller as at that time, the Chinese thought that the girls with tiny feet were seen as beauties. However, foot-binding will not only bring ache to the girls, but also bad for the bones in their feet. Therefore, the traditions are not always right and deserve our respect. These bad traditions should be eradicated.
Lastly, the social trend is now against dog-meat eating. This is especially true among the younger generation who are born in the 1990s. They are more educated and influence by the western societies that they uphold the universal values, that animals and human beings are equal, we should not be biased. To be part of this era, we should also embrace the new practices and ban dog-meat eating.
To sum up, dog-meat eating is a bad tradition and cruel. We should follow the trend to against dog-meat eating. Also, dogs give us support and we have built up a relationship with them. Due to the ethical reasons and our morality, it is unacceptable for us to eat dog-meat. I hope people will stop eating dog-meat and treat dogs as human beings.
Your faithfully,
Kelly Chau