Kathmandu

[mraynrand]

And right next door, Cat man doo:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150622/as--china-eating_dog-289f8060ed.html

"Thousands of dogs and cats slaughtered at China festival despite government promises to crack down"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11689773/Thousands-of-dogs-and-cats-slaughtered-at-China-festival-despite-government-promises-to-crack-down.html

[wist43]

My wife can't understand why people in the west value pets so much... she has eaten cats, dogs, goats, and goat dung for that matter.

When you grow up in that kind of environment, poverty, on the edge of starvation... you have different view of what is to be valued.

[mraynrand]

My wife can't understand why people in the west value pets so much... she has eaten cats, dogs, goats, and goat dung for that matter.

When you grow up in that kind of environment, poverty, on the edge of starvation... you have different view of what is to be valued.

can't they just print money to improve their situation?

[wootah]

When you grow up in that kind of environment, poverty, on the edge of starvation... you have different view of what is to be valued.

Poverty has little to do with it, I'd say: it's mainly tradition & culture. There is a huge population for which the cow is a holy animal, and they will not eat it. Others think the pig is not a "pure" animal and refuse to eat its meat. Just because us Westerners are raised thinking eating dog or cat is not normal, doesn't actually make it less normal than eating cows, pigs or ducks. What about horse meat? Is that normal?

The dog 'festival' is sth else though, it just seems like a primitive tradition, like bull fighting in Spain, or that insane festival in Japan where they feed horses alcohol and let them run drunk in crowded streets. Afterwards, the horses are killed due to having to much injuries or because the meat of a drunken horse is no longer tasty.

[wist43]

Poverty has little to do with it, I'd say: it's mainly tradition & culture. There is a huge population for which the cow is a holy animal, and they will not eat it. Others think the pig is not a "pure" animal and refuse to eat its meat. Just because us Westerners are raised thinking eating dog or cat is not normal, doesn't actually make it less normal than eating cows, pigs or ducks. What about horse meat? Is that normal?

The dog 'festival' is sth else though, it just seems like a primitive tradition, like bull fighting in Spain, or that insane festival in Japan where they feed horses alcohol and let them run drunk in crowded streets. Afterwards, the horses are killed due to having to much injuries or because the meat of a drunken horse is no longer tasty.

If ones religion doesn't prevent it - a starving person will eat just about anything to survive. You cited Hinduism and the Jews as examples - certainly Israel isn't a Third World country. They don't need to eat anything out of desperation.

My wife is Filipino, and the dominant religion there is Christianity. The poverty there can be every bit as bad as in India - overall not as bad, but many people go hungry there every day. My wife's family barely survived when she was young - and to do so, ate they anything they could get their hands on out of desperation, including cats and dogs.

[wootah]

I'm curious; what makes eating a cat that much worse than eating a duck or a cow?

[Zool]

I'm curious; what makes eating a cat that much worse than eating a duck or a cow?

Local societal norms?

[SkinBasket]

I'm curious; what makes eating a cat that much worse than eating a duck or a cow?

There aint no meat on a cat.