Dog meat consumption in Vietnam

Dog meat (Vietnamese: thịt chó) consumption can be found in Vietnam, similar to other Asian countries such as South Korea, Laos, and China.

According to the Four Paws February 2020 report on the dog and cat meat trade in Southeast Asian countries, roughly 5 million dogs are killed for their meat each year in Vietnam. Although the report indicated that Vietnam is the second biggest consumer of dog meat, this practice is only common among a minority of the population.

Debate over dog meat consumption in Vietnam has become more frequent. This increased debate has been impacted by animal activists in and out of the country, health regulators, the government, globalization and expanding market development.

Part of the dispute may be illustrated as a clash of values due to globalization. Dog meat consumption is regarded as a taboo in the West, and such belief is deeply associated with human-animal relations because dogs are often treated as family members by humans.