Illegal trade under the guise of "traditional food": Legal solutions for the dog meat industry

Northwest University of Political Science and Law Social Policy and Public Opinion Evaluation Collaborative Innovation Research Center, Shaanxi Network Public Opinion Research Center

July 2025

Sun Jiang, Li Qiang, and Zhang Zhiyue

Chinese society is sharply divided over the issue of dog meat. Supporters consider dog meat a "traditional food" or a "specialty food of ethnic minorities" and claim that its trade benefits the local economy. However, surveys show that nearly 70% of Chinese people have never eaten dog meat. Historical research also shows that dog meat has gradually faded from the public's table since the Sui Dynasty. It is neither a traditional food or a daily necessity, nor a natural continuation of a traditional industry. Its commercialization is a product of reform and opening up. Current Chinese law does not list dogs as legal meat animals. The ambiguity of the legal status of dogs has led to multiple legal dilemmas for the dog meat industry: live dogs are often sourced through illegal means, cross-provincial transportation generally circumvents quarantine, slaughter supervision was once chaotic, and food safety issues are also very serious. The dog meat trade has become a focal point of controversy, raising questions not only about cultural identity but also about legal boundaries, social ethics, and national image. This article aims to uncover the challenges facing the dog meat industry in both development and enforcement, and proposes feasible legislative solutions.

1. Review of the rationality of traditional diet based on historical data

Dog meat traders have long argued that dog meat is a "traditional food," a "local custom," and a "national food," essentially a staple of the Chinese people. Historical records show that in ancient China, unless faced with famine, people would never slaughter their own dogs for food, and consuming sick dogs was even rarer. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the heyday of ancient China, pet ownership became widespread among both the nobility and the common people, giving rise to the pet industry. Marketplace businesses not only offered cat and dog food, but also cat and dog grooming services. Ancient texts record stories of dog owners posting notices and searching for their beloved "silver hoofs." The ancient book "Dream Records of the Capital" describes the bustling marketplace and the diverse life of the Song Dynasty. It also describes the sales ratios of meat products in a typical Song Dynasty market: mutton accounted for 36%, pork 12%, poultry 11%, and fish 15%. Dog meat was not included. Later dynasties, such as the Yuan and Qing dynasties, did not promote the trade and consumption of dog meat, and rulers advised their vassal states not to offer tributes of live dogs or exotic animals.

Although dog meat was consumed at certain times in history, it has never become part of the mainstream diet of Chinese civilization and lacks cultural continuity or moral legitimacy. Some businesses are leveraging folk culture to brand the dog meat industry, arguing for policy support in the name of "tradition," but this is effectively a commercial exploitation of cultural labels.

2. Legal Issues in the Dog Meat Industry

The legal status of dogs in China's current legal system has long been ambiguous. Prior to reform and opening up, restrictions on dog breeding and culling were a governance measure contingent upon a specific historical context. Although dogs were included in some categories, the state never incorporated them into the national regulations for the breeding and slaughter of meat animals. This legal uncertainty created a regulatory vacuum, allowing businesses to operate under the principle of "anything not prohibited by law is permitted," engaging in the trade, transportation, slaughter, and sale of dogs.

Illegal issues focus on four areas: 1. The unidentified origin of live dogs. Currently, there are no meat-producing dog farms in my country, and the dog meat industry lacks a legal basis for procuring dogs at the source. The vast majority of dogs are of unknown origin or come from theft, poisoning, and other practices. This has resulted in a large number of high-risk dogs entering the market, potentially violating property rights and personal safety, and in some cases even constituting criminal offenses. 2. Illegal transport of live dogs. Interprovincial transport of live dogs widely violates quarantine regulations, with serious instances of document fraud, resistance to roadside inspections, and violent attempts to disrupt the performance of law enforcement duties. 3. Lack of oversight of slaughterhouses. my country's current national livestock and poultry slaughter regulations do not include dog slaughter within their scope of oversight, nor are there any legal provisions explicitly prohibiting the killing of dogs for meat. Some localities have independently developed "technical regulations," resulting in conflicting opinions among relevant departments, leading to a period of extreme chaos in slaughter supervision. Fourth, public safety challenges. Illegal businesses across the country illegally purchase large quantities of dogs suffering from disease, eroding skin, or cancer, as well as poisoned rural guard dogs, and then sell them to consumers. Furthermore, the interprovincial transportation of large numbers of unquarantined dogs poses a serious challenge to the health of workers, the risk of rabies transmission, and the prevention and control of major epidemics.

3. Possible paths for China to curb the dog meat industry based on domestic and international legislative experience

There are currently three models available for reference in the country of China:

Hong Kong model: From the Good Order and Cleanliness Ordinance of 1844, the Anti-Cruelty to Animals Ordinance of 1935, to the Cats and Dogs Regulations of 1950, Hong Kong has eliminated the dog meat industry through a pet management law with the characteristics of dog breeding management regulations.

Taiwan model: Since the enactment of the Animal Protection Act in 1998, Taiwan has continuously refined its provisions, first defining dogs and cats as pets, then prohibiting the slaughter of dogs and cats for economic purposes, and further expanding the prohibition to include the sale of their carcasses for food or fur. Until 2016, the law explicitly prohibited the possession and consumption of dog carcasses.

South Korea's model: Since the implementation of the Animal Protection Act in 1991, South Korea's compromise solutions have repeatedly failed. It was not until 2024 that it decided to start from scratch and enact a new "Special Act" to completely eliminate the dog meat industry through dedicated legislation.

Of the three successful approaches mentioned above, Hong Kong's "Cats and Dogs Ordinance" is essentially a pet management law, with a simple and direct model. The prohibition on the trade and consumption of dogs and cat meat is one of its components. However, dog management in mainland my country is a local matter, with each region formulating its own regulations. In the absence of unified central legislation, management standards may vary across regions. Taiwan's "Animal Protection Act" is comprehensive animal protection legislation, which includes a prohibition on the consumption and trade of dog and cat meat as part of the pet provisions of the Act. In mainland my country, enacting a comprehensive animal protection law to curb the trade and consumption of dog meat presents a greater challenge. South Korea's Special Act is a specialized piece of legislation, designed to focus on a specific issue and not include other animal protection issues. This approach addresses the limitations of existing laws and comprehensive legislation in addressing specific issues. The core advantage of this model lies in its narrow focus on the dog meat industry, avoiding the possibility of a boycott from other animal industries. South Korea's legislative practice offers valuable insights for mainland my country. A Special Act focused solely on the dog meat trade is more practical, while avoiding impacting my country's extensive livestock and wildlife farming industries, thereby avoiding a boycott from the animal industry.

Summary

The dog meat trade is no longer just about the so-called "right and freedom to eat dog meat." The dog meat industry poses a threat to food hygiene and safety, public safety, rabies prevention and control, biosecurity, citizens' property rights, personal safety, major epidemic prevention mechanisms, national legal authority, and national soft power.

In China, the world's second-largest economy, the dog meat trade accounts for a negligible portion of its economic system. However, the negative impact of this industry on social ethics, social harmony and stability, and the nation's image cannot be ignored. Calls for a ban on the dog meat trade continue to grow, and the international community expects my country to play a proactive leadership role in companion animal protection. my country can learn from the legislative practices of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea to completely ban the trade and consumption of dog meat, respond to public ethical consensus, and strengthen the nation's governance image.

Sun Jiang is a professor at Northwest University of Political Science and Law; Li Qiang is a part-time researcher at the Animal Law Research Center of Northwest University of Political Science and Law; Zhang Zhiyue is a graduate student at Northwest University of Political Science and Law.