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ANIMAL WATCH - As readers of CityWatchLA know, on January 9, 2024, the National Assembly of South Korea voted unanimously to ban the torture, killing, and eating of dogs nationwide. See South Korea Bans Dog Meat!, CityWatch, January 11, 2024; In Defense of Animals Media Release: South Korean Lawmakers Applauded for Historic Ban of Country’s Dog Meat Trade. Once the South Korean ban is fully phased in, it will save the lives of over a million dogs a year.
Now it is time for Vietnam to step up to the plate and follow the humane lead of South Korea! Approximately 5 million dogs are brutally killed each year for dog meat in Vietnam. That’s more than 13,000 dogs a day. Dogs are beaten to death, hanged, bled out from a cut to the throat or groin, thrown conscious into large drums of boiling water, and killed in other cruel ways. Prior to their deaths, the dogs are kept and transported in unimaginably horrible conditions. In addition, one million cats are also killed and eaten in Vietnam each year. Humane Society International; Dog Meat Trade Facts; Appalling Conditions in Vietnamese Wet Markets.
CAN WE HELP INFLUENCE VIETNAM TO END THE DOG AND CAT MEAT TRADE?
The answer to this question is yes. It is the official position of the City of Los Angeles to oppose dog meat, including specifically in the country of Vietnam. On July 3, 2019, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution to that effect, which was signed by the Mayor. The resolution states, in part:
“WHEREAS, it is estimated that 10 to 20 million dogs in China, 5 million dogs in Vietnam, and one million dogs each in South Korea, Indonesia, and Cambodia are killed for food each year; and
WHEREAS, dogs in these countries are kept in cramped, rusty cages stacked on top of each other, and slaughtered in brutal ways such as hanging or electrocution, due to an erroneous belief that high adrenaline levels will produce tender meat and increase the supposed health benefits of consuming dog …
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, with the concurrence of the Mayor, that by the adoption of this Resolution, the City of Los Angeles hereby includes into its 2019-2020 Federal Legislative Program SUPPORT for legislation or administrative action that would request the governments of China, Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, and Indonesia to ban the sale of dog meat and to enforce their animal cruelty laws."
Please see: https://koreandogs.org/la-resolution/
Help Stop the Brutal Torture and Killing of Tens of Millions of Dogs in the Dog Meat Trade, CityWatchLA, June 17, 2019;
LA Passes Anti-Dog Meat Resolution Saving Millions of Dogs from Brutal Torture and Death, CityWatchLA, July 8, 2019.
The City Council Resolution, and the fact that it is the official position of the City to oppose dog meat, is highlighted in discussions with Congressman Brad Sherman in the video (From 6:30 to 8:24)that was produced for the South Korean National Assembly.
HOW CAN WE PROMOTE THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF LOS ANGELES TO END DOG MEAT IN VIETNAM?
The idea is to offer a city or province in Vietnam a sister city/sister state relationship with Los Angeles and/or California, which would be conditioned on the Vietnam city or province banning dog and cat meat. I call this the SISTER CITY/STATE PROJECT TO END DOG MEAT IN VIETNAM. Los Angeles does not currently have a sister city in Vietnam; California does not have a sister state/province in Vietnam.
On September 10, 2023, President Biden and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong entered into the JOINT LEADERS’ STATEMENT: ELEVATING UNITED STATES-VIETNAM RELATIONS TO A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP.
The Joint Leaders’ Statement included the following:
“The two Leaders [President Biden and General Secretary Trong] underscored the need to continue deepening political and diplomatic relations, and will promote regular exchanges of delegations and engagements at all levels to strengthen mutual understanding and build and enhance political trust. … (Page 1)
The Leaders pledged to further promote relations between the two countries’ political parties and legislative bodies, including by encouraging dialogue and discussion between these bodies on priorities and each country’s practical experiences. … (Page 2)
The two Leaders reaffirmed the importance of economic, trade, and investment cooperation and innovation-driven inclusive economic growth as the core foundations and sources of momentum in the bilateral relationship. Both sides pledged to create favorable conditions and facilitate the further opening of markets for each other’s goods and services, support trade and economic policy, and regulatory measures to achieve this aim; and to address issues such as market access barriers … (Page 2)
The United States pledged further support for Vietnam in manufacturing, high quality digital and physical infrastructure development, just energy transition, sustainable and smart agriculture … (Page 3)
The Leaders affirmed the importance of cooperation on addressing disease threats at the human-animal interface … (Page 6)
The Leaders applauded the robust growth of people-to-people exchanges and will work together to promote two-way tourism, business cooperation, professional and academic exchanges, and study opportunities. Both sides intend to seek to increase cooperation between states in the United States and provinces in Vietnam in a substantive and effective manner, with concrete projects and programs; to strengthen ties among different communities, sectors, businesses, youth, and people’s organizations of the two countries via exchanges of delegations, joint conferences and cultural exchanges in arts, music, and sport; and to collaborate in organizing activities on the anniversaries of bilateral relations. (Pages 6-7.)
The two Leaders appreciated the substantial contribution of the Vietnamese community in the United States to the development of bilateral relations.” (Page 7) (emphasis added.)
The Sister City/State Project is directly in line with President Biden's and General Secretary Trong's Joint Leaders Statement. Becoming sister cities and states will offer Los Angeles, California, and Vietnam many benefits, including increased business and trade opportunities, increased travel and tourism, increased educational and cultural exchanges, increased cooperation and investments in science, technology, agriculture, and energy, and many other benefits.
I, along with the Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition (GADMC), call upon the Los Angeles City Council and the California Legislature to initiate proceedings to develop a sister city and sister state relationship with a city and province in Vietnam, which will include implementation of the official position of Los Angeles (California’s largest city) to end the dog and cat meat trade.
(Jeffrey Mausner (www.mausnerlaw.com/) is on the Executive Committee of the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils (VANC) where he serves as the Liaison to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department; he is 2nd Vice President of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council and Chair of its Animal Welfare Committee; and is a Volunteer at the West Valley Animal Shelter. He was previously a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate and is now a Budget Representative. He is a retired attorney and law school professor and was formerly a Federal Prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department, where he received numerous awards from the Attorney General of the U.S. (Link). Jeff is a Featured Writer for CityWatch. His other articles can be found here. In September 2023, Jeff received the Guardian of the Animals Award from the organization In Defense of Animals. (Link). In 2024, Jeff received a Special Commendation from the California Legislature. (Link). Jeff is co-founder of the Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition. This article is written in his private individual capacity, not on behalf of the Animal Services Department.)
The Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition (GADMC) is a group of organizations and individuals united in our deep sense of urgency and unwavering determination to advocate for an end to the dog and cat meat trade in countries where it still exists. Please see In Defense of Animals Media Release.
