Would I? I already have. John Foss will probably remember “Our dog is better than your dog.” Although my table’s dog dish was better than his. I have photo somewhere but back in 2000 it was still film so I’d have to dig it out and scan it.
Anyone who says they would never eat dog are missing out. Dog is sooo tasty. Even the Hoovers tried the dog.
I’d have no (okay, maybe a little) trouble eating dog meat, but I wouldn’t eat cat meat. I think that cats are far too smart and independent for me to eat, while dogs are more like cows.
My dog dish looked better than your’s John :p. Plus in traditional Chinese style we got ALL the meat, as you can see by the lovely paw, although we actually only got two paws.
I really don’t think it matters too much, there being a dog or cat on the plate. Just another domesticated animal, sheep, cow, goat, pig, dog, cat. If you are non vegetarian I cannot see why it is of concern. None on the above list is an endangered species.
Of course, seeing “Fluffykins Bonaparte the Third”, your Cruft’s prizewinner on your plate might well be a bit of a turn off.
One thing for sure though, we have no cause to be critical of dog eaters in other countries, who are less petty than we are. Not whilst we happily down young lambs with the mint sauce. Mmmmmm!
Its in interesting topic in the states because a large majority of people wouldn’t ever think of eating a dog or a cat. It fun to see people ranging from “No way you sicko!” to giving exact details why theyd pick one over the other, or show up with pictures of cooked dog paw.
BTW I’ve read recently an interesting historic essay on why some religions shun pork. There are many competing theories:
because God wanted it that way (ok… next?)
because pork meat could be dangerous for your health (unlikely to be the initial reason, but could reinforce a prejudice)
because you are not supposed to eat your totem animal! (I am going to be fatwa-ed for that one :o )
because for a long time people have been noting the proximity of man and pig (biological fact proved now by science) so eating pork equates to cannibalism!
interesting debate!
(I suspect a combination of the arguments slowly evolving through time)
I think I’d go for the dog (but I haven’t eaten any yet).
I don’t think it’s the “cuddliness” of the animal that seems weird - it’s that we (western society at least) don’t tend to eat carnivorous mammals. Birds, fish, insects, crustacians, molluscs, amphibians, reptiles etc are all fair game, along with herbivorous mammals, but not usually carnivorous ones. Perhaps there’s some traditional reason for that, like the smelly breath somebody mentioned…
I know somebody who ate a badger though - apparently tasted pretty nasty.
Yes it did. In fact, your picture looks like the main dish of snake that we got when we went to China for the Great Wall Marathon in 1993. But the meat was lighter in color. It looked and tasted more or less like chicken, and the main dish was very good. Then there was a snake soup, containing all the bones, among other things. Also there were bowls of “seasoned” blood and bile, apparently mixed with a strong liqueur, that were supposed to be good for male virility. Therefore all the women in our group insisted on trying them!
Dog taste:
Described by Julia Hooten as being like pot roast.