The Chinese restaurant dog/cat UL

General Questions
#1

A joke in this thread got me thinking about the widespread joke/belief - one I associate strongly with provincial American xenophobes - that Chinese take-out places use neighborhood dogs and cats as meat.

Has there ever been, in the 20th or 21st centuries, any recorded case of this happening in the US or Canada, even once? Is there any tiny kernel of truth to this assertion at all? How about, say, a Korean place getting busted for dog that the customers knew was dog?

Putting aside the racist implications (“those people” are dog-eating sneaks; they also put peepee in your Coke), it doesn’t even seem to make any economic sense to do this. It’s not as if Fluffy is going to yield enough meat to justify the time it’d take to capture and butcher the animal. Meat is pretty damn plentiful and comparatively cheap here, especially bought in bulk for food service.

And yes, I’ve been to Asia and know that dog is eaten in Vietnam, Korea and parts of China. Not sure about cat… never saw that myself.

As always, thanks for any answers.

#2

Well, there was a case in Edmonton, Alberta where skinned canine carcasses were found on the premises of a Chinese restaurant. I don’t think it was ever proved that these animals were actually served to the public. Details here

#3

While I couldn’t find a followup as to the disposition of the case, this story a few days later reported that the carcasses were determined to be coyotes, and this story a couple of weeks later reports that the owner had been found. Any Edmonton dopers with more info on the case?

#4

I wonder how prevalent this is in other cultures. Here in Mexico – especially more towards the central parts – the joke is that the taqueros use stray dogs to make tacos. I always joke back, more power to them; imagine how many more* strays there would be if someone didn’t put them to use.

*Lots of strays down here – there’s not really any dog catcher. Animal control will come if you call them ask them, but that’s about it. It’s also possible that there’s not so much forced sterilization in Mexico, which may tend to make Mexicans more irresponsible with their young pups. Or they’ve not had Bob Barker preaching to them. Hell, I don’t know; I just wanted to mention dog meat tacos.

#5

Ya’ hear about the new Korean cookbook?

100 Ways To Wok Your Dog

:slight_smile: of course

#6

I made the joke but I don’t believe the UL, because I think it would be harder and more expensive to use dog or cat instead of chicken or beef. Think about it, is it easier to go find a dog or cat, or just run down to the store and buy food?

#7

Snopes sez no, though it’s hardly the most authoritative voice.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/chinese.htm
You may chalk it up to “provincial American xenophobes,” but I’ve eaten Chinese food around the world and occasionally encounter a dish here in the States that says chicken, but whose texture is unlike any chicken I’ve encountered. That’s a bit disconcerting, but no case for dog or cat.

#8

Of course a lot of Asian food has odd textures to us because Asians tend to like a very different “mouthfeel” (to use the food industry term) than westerners do. I think I know what you’re talking about & I think this is due to method of preparation.

#9

Some dishes use very thin cuts of otherwise normal chicken breast, which results in the unusual texture. I have produced the same result in my kitchen.