Oh gosh…is this why stray dogs and cats are disappearing?

From one of our readers:

Had a rather disturbing or interesting conversation with a businessman friend from Port Klang.

He brought up that his friend who own businesses at the port lost his 2 German Shepard and later discovered after much persuasions that his workers from a foreign country had consumed his dogs after making friends with his dogs after several months.

The more disturbing fact is that one my friend’s relative is a recruiter of foreign workers from the dog/cat eating country. The recruiter had to go to this particular country to recruit/entice people to work here. The first task the recruiter had endure a test of trust by having a meal with them. The meal is dog/cat cuisine. If the recruiter ate up the meal then the deal is on the table to start negotiating. It get worse. One of the main ‘enticements’ to come to this country whether this country had supplies of their favourite cuisine. Of course, there are many strays in this country. Just take your pick said the recruiter. Deal sealed; workers will be supplied as required.

There had been news circulating around that some feeders noticed that the juicer, plumply ones that they are feeding are vanishing. On the personal side, since the last quarter of last year in our neighbourhood there had been increased construction of commercial properties. Since Indon workers are hard to come by; other workers from other countries are plentiful  especially from the preferred cat/dogs eating countries.  They are around all our neighbourhood now. Noticed some that some of the free roaming cats of my neighbours had some part of their skins ripped off. Took one to vet recently; and vet is puzzled as it is not an infection fungal or skin disease; vet said had seen plenty of this cases in this area recently. Also notice some stray female dogs that had just birth (by their swollen teats) running around frantically as if searching for her pups. Coincidences?

I have two comments on the above:

1. It’s very sad if this is why the stray animals that you have been feeding are disappearing or even if your pet has gone missing. Once when my Bunny went missing for many hours (at our old house), I totally freaked out. I mounted a Bunny-hunt around the neighbourhood, called the pound, left his photo with the pound (in case the council came by and had caught him), alerted the nearest shelter and left his photo there as well, and PRAYED hard for him to come back. Of course the naughty little thing came strolling back, nonchalant about how dead worried I had been. The possibility of him being caught by foreign workers did cross my mind as well and it was total agony enduring those few hours that he had gone missing. So, I’m really so, so glad that my cats are all confined now. At least it gives me a lot of peace of mind, going to work, going to bed, not having to worry where they had gone to, and what had become of them. If foreign workers have been catching our stray dogs and cats and consuming them (as they did with Meiji’s cats), all we can do is….actually, what can we do?  These are strays, they are not our pets. I suppose the only way is to get them adopted or rehomed. As long as they remain as strays, they are in danger of being caught. But don’t we all know how hard it is to rehome adult animals….

2. In the bigger picture, you may now understand why we’ve been promoting a “eat less meat” diet. Ultimately, humans eat anything they like, as long as it is edible. If some eat chicken, pigs, cows, goats, fish, rabbits, etc., others will eat dogs and cats. Who are we to say which animal should not be eaten and which should be? What makes an animal a beloved pet and others our dinner?  As long as humans continue to eat animals, all animals are at risk of being turned into cuisine by one culture or another. So, while an animal may be a beloved pet in one culture, it could very well be food in another.

Again, what is the longterm solution to save these animals?

EAT LESS MEAT.

I cannot think of any other way.

Can you?

My friend, TY Lee, runs a one-man show in his Loveusnoteatus.com website. He send his stickers and car decals all over the world, to promote vegetarianism. His message is very clear:

We promote and give out his stickers and car decals at all our events as we believe that caring for animals includes not eating them.

If the tongue still craves for the taste of meat, then eat LESS of it. You’re already saving many lives by just reducing your meat consumption.

My latest book is entitled “Do We Have a Choice?” – it is about eating less meat. Do take a look: www.tiny.cc/paws. In it, I urge the readers to go veggie once a week. That’s all, not asking for too much – just ONCE a week, please.

I’ve received very good feedback from readers, young and old. One lady, who used to devour meat, wrote to say she has decided to go veggie THREE times a week now, after reading the book.

Now, that is encouraging!

In memory of all those poor stray dogs and cats who have been devoured, how about making a statement tomorrow, and doing a Veggie Tuesday? Or just a veggie lunch?