Outrage over dog meat in Philippines hits Mid-East, home to Philippines community

The meat-consuming world has never much approved the eating of dog-meat. Dogs are traditionally considered pet-keeping material rather than fine-dining material. Some religions ban their consumption by humans. In the Philippines and Korea, dog meat is indulged in as a delicacy.

Over half million dogs, snatched off the streets and illegally killed in the Philippines, end up in the country's restaurants which flout the law to satisfy the growing taste for dog meat.

According to The Daily Express, customers dine on dog's head, considered a delicacy, for the equivalent of 2.50 pounds, while a dish of dog liver costs about 1.80 pounds.

Restaurants also serve dog meat snacks known as "pulutan".

The grisly trade flourishes in the north where there is a long tradition of eating dog meat despite warnings from the authorities about the dangers to health and the introduction of jail terms for dog meat traders.

Meanwhile, Britain-based non-profit organization 'Network For Animals' is lobbying the Philippines government to enforce its anti-dog meat legislation.

It is also intercepting dog snatchers, who transport the animals to slaughterhouses in appalling conditions, and is campaigning to change public opinion about the practice.

"These restaurants sell dog meat only and generally by lunchtime they are packed. Particularly popular is pulutan, a dog meat bar snack. Another very popular dish is deep fried dog paws, known as 'spare parts'. I went into the kitchen and there on a stainless steel platter was a pile of dog meat and on top of it the boiled head of a dog," Simon Powell of Network For Animals said.

"It was bizarre and surreal to see what we regard as man's best friend and a pet regarded as legitimate food," he added.

The 'Kennel Club' has also announced that it will join the campaign against "the horrific dog meat trade".

"While the Kennel Club recognises that in certain cultures the consumption of dog meat may be deemed to be traditional or associated with particular health benefits, we do not believe that these arguments can justify animal cruelty," the club's communications director Caroline Kisko said.