A television show on a local children and family-focused channel is catching backlash for featuring dog meat as a traditional Vietnamese dish in a recent episode.
On Tuesday night, HTV3’s travel program Viet Nam Dat Nuoc Toi Yeu (Vietnam, My Loving Country) invited viewers to travel with South Korean host Kim Kwang-sik and two Vietnamese friends to a dog meat restaurant in District 8 in Saigon, according to Tuoi Tre. The three were shown laughing and chatting while sampling and describing a variety of dog dishes and sipping rice wine.
The popular show, which began in 2010, features foreigners discussing their favorite elements of Vietnamese society, culture, arts, food, and entertainment. This episode involved a discussion of the nutritional value of dog meat as well as the difference in how it is consumed in Vietnam versus South Korea.
“Dog meat is rich in protein, so South Koreans often eat it during the summer to replenish their energy in the hot weather,” Kwang-sik explains in the video while adding that “Vietnamese people often eat dog meat on rainy days. This enticing and affordable cuisine has long become a familiar sight on local dining tables.”
Since it was aired, the episode was met with waves of criticisms on social media for promoting eating dogs. According to the comments, it's also inappropriate and "disgusting" for a youth-centric channel like HTV3 to promote consumption of dog meat. Others also took issue with how the hosts of the show advertised that "dog meat is a common traditional Vietnamese dish."
HTV3 has not issued a public apology for the episode, but screen grabs shared across social media suggest that they have apologized to individuals who have messaged them on Facebook and promised to refrain from controversial subjects in future broadcasts.
One comment left on the channel’s official Facebook page read: “How can they be laughing while feasting upon other people’s pets? They are even worse than animals.”
"Dogs are friends, not food. [HTV3] must issue a public apology and can't just brush it off," the comment went on.
Vietnam consumes roughly 5 million dogs a year, with a majority of them potentially stolen from homes where they were kept as pets. The activity has been garnering increased criticism within the country. Several celebrities recently have lent their support to a campaign to end its practice. Numerous thieves caught attempting to steal dogs have been beaten or killed by angry mobs, as the namby-pamby legal repercussions are not enough to persuade the snatchers.
Recent reports suggest that while eating dog meat may be losing popularity amongst younger generations of Vietnamese citizens, demand is increasing amongst tourists who are being invited to sample it as a cultural attraction.
[Photo via Wikimedia]
