The Dog and Cat Meat Trade in Vietnam
In collaboration with:
The Grim Reality of the Dog and Cat Meat Trade in Vietnam - An undercover investigation for Four Paws International
For the first time, our exclusive footage reveals the disturbing journey from capture to slaughter. Our investigation has provided compelling evidence of the illegal trafficking of dogs and cats through Vietnam, to supply the dog and cat meat trade.
Our investigators documented extensive trafficking of dogs and cats along main highways, often in the luggage holds of passenger buses, supplying restaurants in the province and beyond. We gathered evidence of these animals being transported and held in unsanitary, highly stressful conditions, and witnessed brutal killing methods at slaughter sites.
Dog & Cat Meat Industry in Vietnam
Each year, more than six million dogs and cats are brutally slaughtered in Vietnam. Most of these animals are stolen pets or community and stray animals taken from the streets to supply the trade. The scale of this trade and the suffering involved makes it one of the most severe companion animal welfare issues in Vietnam, Asia, and possibly the world.
Animal Welfare Concerns
Our investigations documented dogs and cats being subjected to prolonged and severe suffering during holding, transport and slaughter.
During holding and transport
- Dogs being poked with electric prods to move them from one crate to another causing extreme pain and distress.
- Cats crammed on top of each other in tiny cages in the luggage hold of a passenger bus.
- Hundreds of dogs crammed into cages on top of one another in the back of a truck.
- A sick and emaciated dog being turned upside down to facilitate weighing before being thrown back into a truck.
- Dogs in crates on a truck yelping and distressed whilst being violently hosed down.
- Dogs and cats transported in distressing conditions with no access to food, water, or rest for journeys over 24 hours.
During slaughter
- Dogs being removed from crates by their necks with steel tongs before being brutally clubbed to death.
- Dogs having their throats cut and being bled out before their bodies were thrown onto a straw fire to burn their skin before butchering.
- Cats being drowned in a tied-up nylon sack submerged in a bucket of water with a brick placed on top.
- Water being thrown over dogs to improve their conductivity before being electrocuted with a 220-volt prod.
To watch some footage from the investigation click here
To read the detailed report from the investigation click here
The investigation underscores the urgent need to enforce current legislation regarding the trafficking of dogs and cats. In particular, the enforcement of inspections of both trucks and passenger buses by police and officials at official inspection posts. It also highlights the need for further national legislation to end the dog and cat meat trade to protect the well-being of animals while contributing to the efforts of rabies eradication.
Tracks Investigations has undertaken over 295 investigative film projects supporting over 40 conservation, environmental and animal protection NGOs since its inception in 2006. Learn more about how you can work with us here. To support our investigative work for animals, click here.