This may surprise some people but in Switzerland, the trade in cat and dog meat is authorized and their consumption is part of Swiss tradition.
Dog meat is mainly used for making sausages and dog fat is consumed for rheumatism. Cat meat, which is cooked like a rabbit during the Christmas season is especially popular in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne and Jura.
The government has been asked in the past to ban the practice but the federal veterinary office in Switzerland has said that the tradition is old and cannot be abolished.
Advocacy group SOS CATS Noiraigue isn’t giving up. In August, the group launched a petition to ban the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat. Already, it’s collected more than 17,000 signatures.
The group was successful in 2013 in getting a ban on the trade in cat skins. They group is focusing now on getting the ban on the sale of the meat of pets. Pets are not considered a food and therefore can theoretically not be sold or given to be eaten.
But there is no formal ban and therefore no sanction. Moreover it is not forbidden for someone to eat their own dog or cat.
Earlier this week, the group handed over its petition to the Swiss Parliament.
h/t: SOS CATS Noiraigue
