The People's Committee of Hoi An City in Quang Nam Province on Friday entered into a memorandum of understanding with FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organisation for animals, in order to phase out dog and cat meat from the renowned tourist-friendly land.

The historic cooperation agreement will take effect at the end of this year with a two-year duration.

This will be the first time in Viet Nam that a city takes such comprehensive action to end the dog and cat meat trade.

In addition, both sides will join forces to improve animal welfare by implementing vaccination and rabies eradication programmes, and raising public awareness of rescuing dogs and cats from illegal trade as well.  

According to Vice Chairman of Hoi An People's Committee Nguyen The Hung, putting an end to dog and cat meat consumption and eradicating rabies is a humane activity and shows Hoi An’s wish to turn itself into a green tourism destination in the coming time.

“This is a pivotal and watershed moment in Viet Nam and in the region. Every year in Viet Nam, more than five million dogs and a million cats are trafficked and slaughtered for their meat, jeopardising animal welfare and public health. Hoi An is now an example for other towns and cities across Viet Nam to follow suit.”, said Julie Sanders, Director of Companion Animals for FOUR PAWS.

Despite the rampant trade in dogs and cats for meat in Viet Nam, market research done by FOUR PAWS has demonstrated that only 6.3% of Vietnamese consume dog or cat meat, and that 88% of the public supported a ban on the sale of both dog and cat meat by the government.

FOUR PAWS has been working closely with government agencies to achieve a prohibition against dog and cat meat eating, citing the reasons of animal cruelty, health risks from rabies, and the spread of zoonotic diseases to the community.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP – Translating by A. THU