The dog and cat meat trade
Tens of millions of dogs and cats are slaughtered for human consumption in Southeast Asia each year, the great majority of them stolen pets or community animals. The trade is a welfare and a public-he
The dog and cat meat trade in Southeast Asia handles an estimated 10-30 million dogs and several million cats per year, most of them stolen or trapped community animals; it is a serious welfare crisis and a public-health risk implicated in rabies transmission.
Key Facts
- Vietnam, Cambodia and parts of Indonesia are the main contemporary trade hubs.
- Most animals are stolen pets or community dogs and cats, not farmed.
- WHO has formally linked the dog meat trade to rabies transmission.
- Hanoi, Siem Reap and several Indonesian cities have made formal commitments to phase out the trade.
- Effective response pairs slaughterhouse closures with alternative livelihoods for workers leaving the trade.
The scale of the trade
Reliable estimates place annual dog-meat consumption in Vietnam alone at 5-10 million dogs, with several million more in Cambodia, China, Laos and parts of Indonesia. Cats are also slaughtered in large numbers, particularly in northern Vietnam — see our briefing on the Vietnam cat meat trade.
Where the animals come from
The myth of dedicated dog and cat farms is largely wrong. The trade is overwhelmingly supplied by theft of pets, trapping of community dogs and cats, and cross-border smuggling from neighbouring countries. Welfare in transit is universally poor.
What ends the trade
City-level bans (Hanoi's 2018 commitment, several Indonesian cities since), enforcement against the supply chain, and most importantly alternative-livelihood support for the workers — slaughterhouse closures without livelihood support displace the problem rather than end it.
