Taiwanese legislator reveals: "Vietnamese migrant workers sell dog meat and wild game" and is accused by anti-activism groups of ruining the case

For the first time in Taiwan, an illegal syndicate selling dog and cat meat and game meat at the same time was discovered. Left is a dog carcass, right is a stone tiger.

Vietnamese migrant workers and Vietnamese brides killing dogs and selling meat in Taiwan is not news anymore. However, in recent years, the sale of dog and cat meat has gradually been limited to the Vietnamese living circle, and it is difficult for outsiders to know about it, which has increased the difficulty for the police to solve the case. On April 25, 2025, Taichung City Councilor Jiang Heshu actually announced in the council that a group in Taichung openly sold dog meat and "game" wild animal meat, including the protected animal clouded leopard. As soon as the news came out, the media rushed to report it, and the people of Taiwan were shocked.

In the photos presented by Councillor Jiang, there were dogs tied up and arranged, dog meat being cooked, and the most shocking thing was the carcass of a clouded leopard. It is said that there are only 400 clouded leopards left in Taiwan. Because of their cat-like appearance, clouded leopards are cherished by Taiwanese people. Clouded leopard conservation is a priority task. Now they have become wild game for sale. The criminals not only violated the Animal Protection Act, but also challenged the Wildlife Conservation Act. Sure enough, the police, who did not dare to neglect it, caught the Vietnamese migrant worker who was responsible for the delivery that day.

A Taichung city councillor made use of the Council's question time to expose dog meat slaughtering and selling syndicates, but he was immediately attacked by a statement letter issued by an animal protection group, criticising him for stealing the credit and making a show of himself.

But before the public could praise the police for their quick response, the animal protection group Hsinchu County Stray Animal Protection Association issued two statements, pointing out that Councillor Jiang's statement was untrue, and that it was the association that tracked the cases of slaughtering and selling clouded leopards, dogs and cats. All the photos and videos presented by the councillor were collected by volunteers of the association. It was only because of lack of manpower that the councillor was asked to help capture the suspect in Taichung. However, they repeatedly warned that no news could be leaked before the final arrest action was taken to avoid alerting the suspect.

The association also pointed out that Councillor Jiang's arbitrary public release of photos from the evidence collection put Vietnamese people who assisted in trading with Vietnamese criminals in danger and made the investigation work go to waste. The Vietnamese migrant workers and Taiwanese people involved in the case closed their Facebook accounts and disappeared, causing the original plan to simultaneously close the network and solve the case in seven counties and cities to fail.

This scene is most heartbreaking for dog lovers, but it is a proof that illegal syndicates sell dog meat to convince their customers.

However, while Jiang and animal protection groups were talking about different things, the Ministry of Agriculture also announced that it had asked the Seventh Animal Protection Corps to investigate the case. Those who slaughter dogs and cats can be sentenced to up to two years in prison or detention, and fined between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million. Those who buy and eat dog and cat meat can be fined between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000, and their names and photos can be made public. As for hunting and slaughtering the protected animal clouded leopard, the penalty is between six months and five years in prison, and a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million.

Because Councillor Jiang once said that he suspected that the 50 to 60 dogs held by the criminals were eliminated or retired dogs from breeding farms, or they could be stray dogs. These speculations continued to ferment on the Internet. Some netizens believed that purebred dogs were not the first choice of diners, so the probability of breeding farm dogs was very low. Instead, some unscrupulous private dog farms that were not regulated might have captured stray dogs for profit. In short, whether the suspects in this case can be captured in one fell swoop is the key to revealing the truth.