Combating Consumption Through Consumption

Nagaland Animal Welfare Society voiced out after the recent uproar on social media platforms with regard to the ban of dog meat trade in the state. While most people stand strong with their view point saying that the ban is an intervention on dietary habits. There are even more reasons for people to avoid the eating of dog meat and health being one of them. Dog meat contains parasitic worms, like the infamous Toxocara canis, which can result to blindness and respiratory failure. Rabies is another legitimate concern, as we know these dogs are illegally transported from outside the state and that most of them being strays, workers can easily be infected with rabies during slaughter and spread the disease to other dogs and human like. There are also a number of parasites such as anthrax, brucellosis, hepatitis and leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection that can easily be spread to humans. A change in climate has resulted in extreme weather patterns which have brought about even more infectious disease both new and re-emerging. It is important for us to understand that majority of dogs that are sold in the market are not farmed, which puts man at higher risk to poor health.

While there are also irrational beliefs that that dog meat is used for medicinal purpose and contains special nutrition, but the fact is, it just contains higher fats than any other livestock and is considered tastier. We have moved far beyond the days when we were hunter gatherers, fish and collect fruits to sustain ourselves. Now, we have many choices and not consuming dog meat is one of them.

Some say we should be true to all animals, if not dogs then pork and beef should not be eaten as well. The fact is humans are at top when we consider the food chain habit. There is a difference between animals for sustenance and killing and eating them for fun. Cruelty is involved when dogs are transported from one state to another and sold openly in the market. Unlike cows that are left for grazing in the field, or pigs are still fed in their sty until they are slaughtered for consumption.

The stealing of pets or even the shoot at sight especially like dogs is a common problem because we still consume them. There are many cases in the past where dogs are not given back to the owners after being shot. They are often taken away by the ones who shot for a feast. These would have never happened if the consumption of dog was not encouraged.

We are no one to disrespect another person’s food diet. It is only self-realisation that will enable man to understand and have compassion towards every form of creatures. We believe that people who indulge themselves in crime or cruelty towards animals are more prone to create violence even at home and to other human. We instead need to influence people to develop empathy towards another human, build compassion towards animals and bring out a positive change in the environment as a whole.