This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The French retailer Carrefour has removed dog meat products from two supermarkets in China after an outcry from animal rights groups.



Animals Asia said it had already asked the international chain, which operates more than 200 stores in China, to remove dog meat from its shelves in 2012.

The company promised to do so, it said, but an inspection by the charity last month found two branches of Carrefour supermarkets in the eastern city of Xuzhou prominently featured dog meat products.

These items included “Fankuai turtle-juiced dog meat”, selling for 136 yuan ($20), as well as smaller packages of dried dog meat selling for 25.60 yuan.

Taiwan bans dog and cat meat from table as attitudes change Read more

Carrefour said in a statement: “This is a locally produced product which is sold in only two stores in Xuzhou.” The company said the items were taken off shelves on Tuesday.

As many as 10 million dogs are killed for food annually in China, according to the Humane Society International.

Dog meat consumption is not illegal in China, but animal rights groups have sought to stop its sale at a controversial annual festival in the south-western town of Yulin.

“Few people in China expect a supermarket to carry dog meat products. Eating dogs and cats is a minority activity which is considered outdated by the young and middle-class,” said Animals Asia’s director of cat and dog welfare, Irene Feng.

“The last thing China’s animal protection campaigners need is for a modern international supermarket chain to normalise cat and dog eating and support an industry rife with cruelty and illegality,” Feng said.



