Dogs in China to receive reprieve during Beijing Olympics

Restaurants and hotels in the Chinese capital have been asked to take dog meat off the menu during Olympics and Paralympics due to concerns that the canine dishes might be offensive to Westerners and animal rights activists.
"Gourmets with a special predilection for dog meat will be disappointed if they come to the Chinese capital in the coming two months," a Beijing Tourism Bureau official said.

The Beijing Catering Trade Association (BETA) has issued a circular forbidding all the 112-designated restaurants from providing dog meat dishes during Olympics and strongly advised other establishments to suspend serving the canine delicacy until September.

"If a customer orders dog meat, the restaurant staff should patiently suggest another entree," Xiong Yumei, the Bureaus Vice-Director, was quoted as saying by official Xinhua news agency. "Conflicts should be avoided." Canine dishes are popular among the Korean community in Beijing, as also in Yunnan and Guizhou restaurants.

Apart from being a delicacy, dog meat is also believed by many Chinese to be an effective element to lower blood pressure. Some also think it boosts "sexual prowess".

Animal rights and environmental activists claim dogs are brutally killed with clubs and knives in China's dog meat industry.

As for dog meat for medicinal purposes, the circular said the ingredient should be listed clearly.