I was very surprised to see that Indiana doesn't already have
this law on the books.I don't see why Asians would object
to something they say they don't do anyway.
Dog-eating bill rankles Asians with pet peeve
By Jeannette J. Lee
Associated Press
Published February 22, 2005
HONOLULU -- A state legislator is pushing a bill that would ban the slaughter of dogs and cats for food, drawing protests from some Asian ethnic groups who believe the measure is aimed at unfounded and racist stereotypes of their cultures.
Animal-rights groups pushed for the bill's introduction this month, even though joint investigations last year by the Hawaiian Humane Society and Animal Crimestoppers yielded no proof that anyone uses the animals as food.
Hawaii state Rep. Glenn Wakai, who introduced the measure, said it is aimed at stemming the growth of a "cottage industry" with the potential to threaten public health. He said news reports last August about dogs being stolen and butchered in some Oahu neighborhoods proves there is a problem.
Eating dog meat is tolerated in some Asian cultures, but many families from Asia that settled in Hawaii generations ago consider the practice repugnant.
The measure was scheduled for a vote in the House this week, but the state Senate hasn't scheduled a hearing, Wakai said. It would make it a felony to kill, purchase or distribute any dog or cat for human consumption.
The news reports he cited were based largely on tips from Carroll Cox, president of the local environmental activist group Envirowatch, who said his own undercover investigation found evidence of the practice on Oahu.
But investigations of two of those tips came up empty, said Letha DeCaires, a Honolulu police detective and a coordinator for Animal Crimestoppers, part of the local non-profit Crimestoppers program.
"Either the Humane Society or the police department followed through with every tip that we had," DeCaires said.
Cox contends the Humane Society mishandled the cases.
"It is commonplace in Hawaii. It's a practice that has been known, noted and documented, and no one has touched it because it's a cultural issue," Cox said.
State Rep. Alex Sonson said the proposed measure is a reaction to hearsay and would harm the image of Filipinos, Koreans and other Asians who make up the majority of the state's population.
"It perpetuates this myth that every Filipino is eating it," Sonson said. "But they're not."
Frank Wu, dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, believes the issue of eating dog is emphasized "to caricature and condemn particular populations," namely Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese and other Asians. Wu wrote about dog-eating in his book "Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White."
Wakai said race is irrelevant to his proposed legislation.
"There's no language in the bill that distinguishes certain ethnic groups or cultures of partaking in this type of practice," Wakai said.
The slaughter and sale of dogs, cats or other animals considered companions is prohibited in California, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.
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