For more than a decade, the NoToDogMeat Foundation has pioneered an ambitious mission to end Asia’s cruel dog and cat meat trade.

NoToDog Meat is the campaigning association for the UK-registered charity ‘World Protection for Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade’.

It acts to inform and educate the general public about the dog and cat meat trade worldwide.

Each year, millions of dogs and cats are brutally slaughtered for their meat, fur, and use in traditional medicine. While some dogs are specifically farmed for this purpose, many are stolen pets or strays.

We estimate that, worldwide, as many as 30 million dogs are eaten each year.

Our charity operates primarily in China, Cambodia, South Korea, and the Philippines and we also do lobbying in Vietnam.

During the annual Yulin dog meat festival in China, we not only voice our opposition to the festival, we literally save lives. Throughout the rest of the year, we continue to intercept trucks carrying dogs and we raid slaughterhouses.

Background

The ‘World Protection for Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade’ charity was founded by Julia de Cadenet, a dual-qualified lawyer and activist who witnessed first-hand the horrors of the live meat markets in China in 2009.

De Cadenet began by lobbying in the UK parliament for the rights of dogs in South Korea, pushing in particular for the closure of the Moran Market in Seoul, where one dog dies every 13 seconds and torture is commonplace.

The NoToDogMeat campaign started on social media in April 2013 with the help of a like-minded group of volunteers, all motivated by their love of dogs and cats.

We lobby the UK and other governments and help grassroots campaigners to run animal shelters in countries where there is a dog and cat meat trade.

In May 2013, NoToDogMeat presented a short film at the Cannes Film Market about the dog meat trade in South Korea, using footage gathered by long-term activist Kyenan Kum from International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA).

This was the first time that the cruel realities of the dog and cat meat trade were exposed so publicly.

People worldwide responded immediately, and, on May 18, 2013, NoToDogMeat held public protests in more than 36 towns and cities on the first ‘World Awareness Day’ about the dog and cat meat trade. This initiative encouraged other grassroots groups to spring up and join the NoToDogMeat movement.

In January 2018, our work was formally recognised by the United Nations and our charity was granted Special Consultative Status.

The dog and cat meat trade

In China, millions of dogs are skinned alive for food and fur every year. Frequently, this barbaric cruelty takes place in front of children. Dog meat festivals such as Yulin are commonplace, and there is no regard for health or sanitation.

In some countries, including Korea, people have been led to believe that the more the animal suffers the better the meat tastes.

China has been moving to reclassify dogs and cats as unfit for human consumption. In Vietnam, there was uproar when footage obtained by NoToDogMeat showed cats being boiled alive for a supposed cure for respiratory ailments.

The tide is finally turning on this cruelty.

Our work

NoToDogMeat is committed to helping the brave volunteers who stop trucks on the way to the Yulin festival and rescue dogs from markets and slaughterhouses in China.

In 2015, we formed a partnership with a committed grassroots Chinese activist and, together, we built a shelter near Beijing.

The shelter in China has since grown and has moved to Hebei. It’s a sanctuary for more than 700 dogs and cats. The rescued animals receive whatever medical treatment they need and, slowly, they are able to learn to love and trust humans again.

All the rescued animals are microchipped on arrival and NoToDogMeat operates a strict spay-and-neuter programme.

The rehoming and adoption of the smaller dogs take place in China, but we rehome the larger dogs overseas. Many of them go to Europe and the United States.

Your donations and support enable us to continue this vital work.

Our objectives

Our charity has the following objectives:

• preventing or suppressing cruelty towards animals in the dog and cat meat trade worldwide,
• giving support to animal sanctuaries where dogs and cats rescued from the meat trade rest and recover,
• facilitating the provision of emergency veterinary care and treatment for dogs and cats in the meat trade, including those at dog farms and rescued animals,
• assisting with the rehoming of dogs and cats (including lost pets) who have been rescued from the dog and cat meat markets and trade, and
• campaigning for animal welfare laws to be respected and enforced on an international and a national level. This relates to all animals in the dog and cat meat trade, including those on dog farms, and includes campaigning for an end to the live transport of dogs and cats for slaughter and the boiling, skinning, and blowtorching of live dogs at the meat markets, and for the closure of illegal slaughterhouses.

If you would like to know more about NoToDogMeat, or join us, please send us an email via the contact form or call us on 0300 302 0326.