Dogs boiled alive and eaten in Vietnamese meat market

Hà Nội ( New York Post, Mar 28,2018): Heartbreaking pictures show a dog meat market in Vietnam where stolen pets are rammed into cages and delivered to restaurants to be skinned and boiled alive.

An anonymous animal rights activist took the shocking video in Vườn Quốc Gia Bạch Mã village in a bid to raise awareness about the horrific trade.

Meanwhile, another previously unseen clip from a Hanoi meat market shows a pile of butchered dog carcasses.

Opposition to eating dogs has mounted of late, with growing numbers of animal rights groups shining a light on the illicit yet unregulated industry.

Australian Michele Brown, the CEO of the Fight Dog Meat charity, said: “In Vietnam, it’s believed eating tough meat makes a tough man.”

“Many think dog meat boost’s a man’s libido, helps their joints and even cures illness. But none of this is scientifically proven.”

“The preference is for tough meat, it’s like the opposite of meat eaten in the West.”

“So they think by terrifying the dogs, they flood them with adrenaline and make the meat tastier.”

Unlike the superstitious cat meat trade that recently grabbed headlines, dog meat is mainstream in Vietnam.

Reports suggest an estimated five million dogs – many snatched from loving homes – are eaten annually with Hanoi serving as the most lucrative market.

Ironically, while the number of dog restaurants is on the rise in Vietnam’s capital, pet ownership is also growing and driving a booming dog theft industry.

Brown said dogs are often smuggled in tightly-packed vans like the one in the footage, but added that it’s rare to be caught on camera as they normally travel at night.

She said a horrified activist stumbled upon the Hanoi-bound truck by chance.