Inside the Cat and Dog Meat Market in China

WARNING - viewers may find some images in this report disturbing. Dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches. This isn’t a pet store -- it’s a meat market in Guangzhou, a city in southern China where eating cats and dogs is common practice. At the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant in central Guangzhou, diners can choose from a long list of menu items, including dog soup, dog steak, dog with tofu and more. In the kitchen, the chef chops up meat for dog hot pot, one of the more popular dishes. Most customers like it spicy. “Dog meat is good for your health and metabolism,“ explains Li, the hostess who declined to give her first name. “In the summer it helps you sweat.“ Should cat and dog meat be banned? But these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. The Chinese government is considering legisla