Yup, they eat dogs here

Yes, it's what you think it is

I had a conversation with several Ifugao men the other day, where they sat around and told stories about feeding dog to foreigners without them knowing it. They thought it was the funniest thing.

“One time, there were these two Peace Corps volunteers. They had dinner with me and I served them some meat. ‘What is this?’ they asked me. I said, ‘It’s duck!’ and they said, ‘Oh, it is very good!’ Later on, they asked me for more and I told them it was really dog meat! They were very surprised! ‘We like it!’ they said. So I gave them some more.”

Another man chuckles over his glass of gin and takes a sip. “I served dog to some foreigners once too,” he says, “But I never told them what it really was.”

The other men laugh and tell similar stories, and I wonder if they’ve forgotten about me. It’s hard to hear these stories as a traveler because I want to trust the people I eat with.

“If you’re here long enough, you’ll eat dog meat,” Adam told me when I first got here. “I had it at a wedding once, and it wasn’t that bad.”

Like me, Adam used to be a vegetarian, but he let go of his veggie ways awhile ago. Now he eats whatever they serve. I can’t stomach the thought. I hardly eat any meat here—I pick the pork out of my vegetables as subtly as I can, though I do eat fish and chicken from time to time. But dog—I just don’t think I can do it.

A recent bill passed in the Philippines in 1998—the Animal Rights Welfare Act, which prohibits the killing of dogs for food. There is one loophole though that Cordilleran residents (the people that live in my region) are trying to use to get out of the Act. Apparently, it’s not considered a crime when an animal killing (other than acceptable animals like chickens and cows) occurs “as part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or a ritual required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities.”

The Cordillerans argue that eating dog meat is part of the cultural practices of the tribes in the region; a recent study stated that around 90% of Cordilleran males are dog eaters. They argue that it’s part of the Northern tribe’s culture, a way of showing hospitality when one has visitors.

It’s not like Filipinos are the only ones that eat dog meat—it’s consumed in many parts of Asia: China, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, and even some parts of Switzerland and the Arctic. The thing is Filipinos are highly influenced by western values--and we all know western have a strong emotional tie to dogs. It’s become a pressing issue among animal rights activists in the country as well.

As for me—I admit, I’m totally grossed out by the thought. I don’t personally want a dog, but I connect with them more than chickens and pigs. I can’t stand the thought of a dog being killed for food—but then, that’s my value system. Is it right for me, or others, to impress it on the Ifugao? What if a group of Indians came to the U.S. and wouldn’t allow people to eat cows because they’re sacred? Whose values get to dominate whom?

For now, I know I can’t do anything about it—but I won’t be getting to close to the dogs next door, I can tell you that.