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The proposal to establish Hanoi as a city where the consumption of dog and cat meat is prohibited has received widespread agreement among delegates at the symposium on trading and consuming meat from domesticated animals (dogs and cats).

On July 4th, the Delegation Affairs Committee (the Standing Committee of the National Assembly) and the Deputies Training Center, in collaboration with Intelligentmedia Behavior Change Communication and the Soi Dog Foundation International, organized a symposium titled “Trading and Consuming Meat from Domesticated Animals (Dogs and Cats): Policies, Challenges, and Opportunities.”

Tạ Văn Tường, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized that Hanoi is not only a prominent political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of the country, but also a “city for peace” that attracts millions of tourists for sightseeing and travel. Consequently, the business, slaughter, and consumption of dog and cat meat create negative sentiments among tourists, particularly international visitors and foreigners residing and working in Hanoi.

To reduce and ultimately eradicate the trading and consumption of dog and cat meat, Mr. Tường proposed implementing measures to prevent and control rabies, establishing rabies-free zones, and effectively managing the slaughter, business, and utilization of dog and cat meat within the city.

Authorities should take action to capture stray and unowned dogs, promote humane activities and animal welfare, enforce strict penalties for violations related to the business, trading, transportation, and slaughter of dogs and cats, and implement measures to prevent and control animal rabies. These efforts aim to gradually change the perception of the community.

Rahul Sehgal, Director of International Campaigns and Communications at the Soi Dog Foundation International, assessed that a ban on trading and consuming dog and cat meat would be an effective measure, and Hanoi could serve as a pilot location for its implementation. The Soi Dog Foundation International has pledged to support the establishment of a legal framework, conduct behavior change communication activities, and facilitate effective coordination mechanisms to foster a societal consensus against the consumption of dog and cat meat.

According to workshop participants, the consumption of dog and cat meat is a deeply rooted societal habit. To gradually eliminate this practice, it is necessary to raise awareness and promote education. In the long term, communication campaigns based on scientific evidence should be implemented, focusing on trading and consumption groups to encourage behavioral change.

The World Health Organization highlights that trading, transporting, slaughtering, and consuming dog meat pose a concealed threat to public health and increase the risk of infectious diseases such as rabies and leptospirosis. Statistics from international animal welfare organizations reveal that an average of 5 million dogs and 1 million cats are traded and slaughtered for meat in Vietnam annually.

According to the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the city currently has a dog and cat population ranging from 421,000 to 460,000, and this number is trending upward. Since 2018, Hanoi has called for and campaigned to encourage people to abandon the habit of consuming dog and cat meat. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has also proposed the idea of banning the sale of dog meat in inner districts starting from 2021.

After one year, Nguyen Ngoc Son, the director of the Hanoi Animal Health Department, noted that the number of people consuming dog meat has decreased. However, for the campaign to be truly effective, it must be sustained for an extended period, possibly spanning decades, as changing people’s habits and customs is a challenging task.