Hanoi: Dog slaughterhouses closed for at least 2 weeks
Hanoi’s Vice Chairman Dao Van Binh on May 16 led a delegation that checked on dog meat preparation in Ha Dong district after cholera was found in dog meat sold in the area.
Dog slaughterhouses there will be closed at least 15 days as of that day. Hanoi authorities will also spray Chloramin B to sterilise the commune, Binh said.
The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Hanoi’s Preventive Medicine Centre on May 7 and 8 discovered that 1 of 3 samples of dog meat from Duong Noi tested positive for cholera.
Slaughterhouses in Duong Noi distribute dog meat all over Hanoi, such as to Hang Than, Hoang Mai, Nhat Tan, Xuan Dinh and Co Nhue.
Although these abattoirs have been temporarily closed, many traders are still selling dog meat.
Besides Hanoi, eight other provinces in the north have reported cases of cholera, including Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa.
Dog meat restaurants
Dog meat restaurants and traders in Hanoi are in a storm because of the Hanoi Department of Health’s announcement that dog meat is the culprit of the current acute diarrhea epidemic in the city.
VietNamNet made a trip around dog meat restaurants in Hanoi on May 15. Many restaurants, including famous ones in Nhat Tan, have had to close their doors because of lack of customers.
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| A quiet dog meat restaurant in Hanoi. |
“I don’t know whether dog meat causes the acute diarrhea outbreak or not, but the last time, shrimp paste was accused of being the culprit and then it was vindicated. Only people like us suffered. We hire five staffs and still have to pay taxes but we have to close,” said Mrs. Tu, the owner of Anh Tu Beo restaurant.
Some popular dog meat restaurants in Hanoi like Tran Muc and Ha Beo were also quiet.
VietNamNet’s reporters also went to Me Tri Thuong village, a big dog abattoir in Hanoi which provides dog meat for many restaurants in the capital.
Mr. Cuong, the owner of Tien Cuong slaughterhouse, said he bought dogs from Hai Duong and some neighboring provinces of Hanoi. He hasn’t slaughtered any dog in recent days because of the announcement of the Health Department.
“Thousands of people in Hanoi eat dog meat. If dog meat has cholera bacterium, so why have only a few people caught the disease?” Cuong queried.
Different from Hanoi, where dog meat restaurants have seen few customers in recent days, restaurants in HCM City are reported to be very crowded, despite 100% of samples of dog meat and raw vegetables accompanying dog meat found to be infected with bacterium, according to HCM City Department of Health tests.
From the early morning until 10pm, tens of dog meat stalls along Pham Van Hai road, Tan Binh district, sell hundreds of kilos of dog meat per day. Dog meat restaurants on Cach Mang Thang Tam and Cong Quynh streets are always crowded.
Mr. Hai, the owner of a dog meat restaurant on Cong Quynh road, told VietNamNet that he sells around three dogs per day and customers are mainly students and young people.
A senior deputy of the HCM City People’s Council, Nguyen Van Minh, told VietNamNet that HCM City is unable to manage the quality of dog meat and has warned people to be careful when buying dog meat. Minh said the city hasn’t licenced any dog abattoir.
PV
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