HISTORY AND CULTURE
Dog meat consumption is a centuries-old practice in several countries in Asia including the Philippines. Before the year 1998, the commercialization and trade of dog meat for consumption was freely conducted, it was not out of the ordinary to consume dog meat especially in the Northern Regions within Igorot tribes and families.
As time went on, the commercialization of dog meat increased and became a common dish in those regions; a “pulutan” snack to be eaten while drinking. In the year 1998, this commercialization was banned in accordance with Republic Act No. 8485, otherwise known as “The Animal Welfare Act of 1998” due to health concerns regarding the practice.
In the northern regions of the Philippines, the Igorot tribes consume dog meat as a part of their rituals and traditions and are protected by Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act. Their ritual called “daw-es” involves killing a dog (or other animals) and consuming it when a family of the tribe encounters a tragedy that involves death among the family members, they view the dog as a guardian which when consumed, cleanses the family of evil spirits. These rituals however are performed only by the elders of the tribe and are only done within the families.
Sources:
- World Population Review (2023). What Countries Eat Dogs?.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/what-countries-eat-dogs - International Wildlife Coalition Trust (IWCT). (2023). The dog meat trade. https://iwct-uk.org/iwct/dog-meat-trade/
- Jularbal, I. M. (2021). From main ritual to main course: dogs, dog Meat, and the Igorot trope. The Cordillera Review 11 (1-2), 31–51. https://thecordillerareview.upb.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2-Jularbal-21- De.pdf