Investigation: Inside Vietnam’s Dog Meat Trade And Wet Markets

Vietnam’s Dog and Cat Meat Trade

National and international media have extensively reported about dog meat consumption, and in 2018, the Vietnamese government declared that it would ban dog meat consumption by 2021. Despite this, the dog killing process can still be seen in public spaces and with the right access also behind closed doors. Đức Thượng Commune in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, is one of these spaces.

A caged dog stares down at the hairless, gutted and cleaned bodies of slaughtered dogs lying on wet pavement at a slaughterhouse in the Hoai Duc district of Hanoi, Vietnam. Live dogs are held here with a full view of the cleaning process. Vietnam, 2022. Aaron Gekoski / Asia for Animals Coalition / We Animals Media

Our photojournalists, Aaron Gekoski and Napat Wesshasartar, investigated multiple markets in the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh where they documented caged dogs being killed and sold for meat to paying customers in Hanoi’s public markets.

Vendors typically kill the dogs by striking their heads with plywood, then stabbing them in their hearts. After that, they will put their bodies into a fur-removing machine before burning their skins. Many of these dogs are imported from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

“I normally set aside my emotions and focus on the assignment, however, when I have to go through all of the footage that I shot, it’s heartbreaking. Seeing our companion animals being killed, hearing the sound of the injured dogs, and smelling their blood – it’s horrible and unacceptable. Historically, dog and cat consumption is normal, especially during famine or world war. But Vietnam has been far from that era for years.” ― Napat Wesshasartar, animal photojournalist

While dog meat trade is not illegal, consuming cats was banned in Vietnam in 1998, but this directive was later cancelled in 2020. Vendors openly sell dead cats alongside cages of live cats, destined to be killed and sold as “tiểu hổ” or cat meat.

Live cats of various breeds are confined inside a cage at a market in Hanoi, Vietnam. These cats are destined to be killed and sold as “tiểu hổ” or cat meat. Vietnam, 2022. Aaron Gekoski / Asia for Animals Coalition / We Animals Media

The consumption of dog meat is more popular in the northern parts of Vietnam than the south. Even now, it is considered a delicacy by some and yet still a staple by others. Despite this, many Vietnamese are fighting to end the practice.

Most of the killing process is conducted in clear view of other living dogs, who are crammed together in groups of about 10 in cages no larger than two square metres. Ten to twenty dogs and cats are usually killed and sold per day at a given market.

“Studies suggest that consuming dogs and cats can cause the risk of infection from deadly parasites such as E. coli and salmonella (commonly found in contaminated meats), as well as the risk of contracting other serious and potentially deadly bacterial diseases.” ― Napat Wesshasartar

Read more about Vietnam’s dog and cat meat trade and the efforts of organizations to date to ban it in this report from the Asia for Animals Coalition.

Thanh Hoa Bird Market in Southern Long An province is one of Vietnam’s largest wild bird markets, reported sometimes as “birds’ hell” because birds, snakes, eagles and wildlife are kept in captivity and slaughtered. The scale of the wildlife trade is so large that Vietnam’s forests are emptying from an “animal genocide.”

Some of these animals are critically endangered and protected by law in Vietnam. Most of the animals, including endangered species, are caught in the wild. Some of the shop owners showed elongated tortoises (Indotestudo elongata), a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List. Although this market sells birds illegally, and despite statements from authorities that they will stop the slaughter of these birds, our investigators witnessed no evidence of the Vietnamese government taking any such action against the market. On the contrary, vendors sold these animals openly in public spaces.

The charred bodies of three dead storks lie on the floor at the Thanh Hoa Bird Market, which is an exotic animal market in Vietnam. A torch has been used to burn off their feathers. Vietnam, 2022. Aaron Gekoski / Asia for Animals Coalition / We Animals Media

A dead stork laid out on the floor at the Thanh Hoa Bird Market, which is an exotic animal market in Vietnam. A torch on the floor beside them will be used to burn off their remaining feathers. Vietnam, 2022. Aaron Gekoski / Asia for Animals Coalition / We Animals Media

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations called for countries to suspend the sale of live wild animals at wet markets because of their risk of spreading emerging deadly diseases; and just recently, Canada announced a ban on the import of dogs from more than 100 countries “to reduce the risk of introducing dog rabies into Canada,” which includes Vietnam. This new measure will prohibit the entry of “commercial dogs” as of September 28, 2022, and could impact dogs rescued from the meat trade who are currently sent over to countries such as Canada for adoption.

These visuals provide a raw glimpse into Vietnam’s dog meat trade and wet markets, and expose intense animal suffering and illegal sales.

Data Sources: Asia for Animals Coalition / Four Paws / The New York Times / United Nations / Government of Canada