home International Ministry of Agriculture in China declares that dogs will already be part of its menu
China.- China’s Ministry of Agriculture has officially declared that dogs are not cattle, possibly predicting that they will soon no longer be on the country’s menus. On Wednesday, the ministry published a draft of the list of animals classified as livestock, those that can be bred for meat, products or medicinal use.
The list was compiled after China officially banned trade and consumption of wild animals in February following the coronavirus outbreak, which is believed to have started in a wet market in Wuhan City.
The list includes 13 types of traditional cattle animals such as pigs and cows and 18 more exotic types of animals such as deer and ostriches.
Dogs are not included in the list. Instead, the ministry included a special note, explaining that dogs have “evolved” from being won to “pets”. Cats are also not on the list, although they do not deserve a special footnote.
While Beijing had stated that it would be forbidden to eat any wild land animals not listed, it is unclear whether that includes dogs, which are generally not considered wild animals.
It is unclear whether this will remain a legal vacuum or whether “pets” will be considered definitely non-edible.
Source: Shangahiist
