PeterL wrote:
J.Venning wrote:
Correction, they do. I don't mean to contradict you just for the sake of
it, but the topic had intrigued me for quite a while, so I took the trouble
of asking my acquaintances in Beijing about dog meat. Yes, dog meat is
served as a dish, but only few specialised restaurants offer them, and they
use they meat from dogs which are specially raised for food - chow-chow -
not just any ordinary house-pet dogs. No, I didn't bother to taste it,
although whilst in Chicago last summer, I did taste "Cajon alligator" at the
"Taste of Chicago" food fair - nuttin' to it, could have been pork for all I
know. Whilst we are on the subject of food (I love eating), why hasn't
anyone here condemned the eating of frogs, snails (yuk!), or even raw
oysters in the Western World ?

Because frogs, snails and raw oyster are not pets?

Pet status is something determined by human choice. It's not some sort
of moral quality of an animal species. Sheep, goats, horses, rabbits,
fish, birds, and pigs are quite commonly kept as pets, but that fact
doesn't appear to render eating them morally reprehensible.

cheers,
--mt.