Holiday Ayo - One of the biggest challenges faced by animal lover activists is making efforts to end the consumption of dog meat which continues to grow in a number of countries.

Unfortunately, in some countries, dogs are also used as a source of food and consumed by the people.

Since thousands of years ago, several countries in Asia and Africa have had a tradition of consuming dog meat.

Among several continents, Asia is the continent with the highest level of dog consumption in the world.

According to Humane Society International predictions, every year as many as 30 million dogs are killed for human consumption.

Typically, killed dogs are illegally stolen from people's homes and taken to be slaughtered. In China, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Nagaland region of India, dog meat consumption is common.

China is the world's largest consumer of dog meat and is estimated to consume 10 million dogs per year.

Dog meat has been a tradition in China for thousands of years and is still eaten in many regions of the country.

The most famous area for consuming dogs among Westerners is Yulin. This area often holds a dog meat festival every year.

The Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival was widely protested and increasingly controversial outside China.

In 2020, the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai became the first and second cities in mainland China to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.

China's Ministry of Agriculture has changed the classification of dogs and cats from livestock to companion animals.

Another well-known country that consumes dog meat is Vietnam, which is in second place in the world after China.

The Vietnamese use almost every part of their dog's body in stews and soups, and serve the meat seasoned on skewers. 

Many believe that dog meat has medicinal properties and brings good fortune. In South Korea, dogs are killed by electrocution. 

Meanwhile, in other countries, dogs are usually beaten, hanged, or, more rarely, boiled alive. Dog meat is also found in the Philippines, where it is the main ingredient in asocena. 

On the other hand, Taiwan became the first Asian country to ban the consumption of cat and dog meat, as well as the sale of cats and dogs for consumption purposes, in 2017. 

Violators are subject to large fines, public shaming, and possible prison sentences. Likewise, the slaughter of cats and dogs, as well as the sale of their meat, has been illegal in Hong Kong for decades. 

However, consumption of this meat has not been prohibited. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the trade, slaughter and consumption of dogs poses health risks due to trichinellosis, cholera and rabies.