History Main / AsiansEatPets

* In 1904, a man named Truman Hunt brought a group of locals from the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} over to the United States to perform as part of a traveling HumanZoo show. One of the most infamous parts of the show was when the performers, who were portrayed closer to HollwoodNatives than stereotypical Asians, would take a dog brought to the show from the local pound, roast it alive and eat it. Since this act was inspired by this trope as opposed to actual Filipino customs, the performers were not used to eating contaminated stray dog meat on a daily basis, and as a result many fell ill with some even dying from food poisoning.

* A new Chinese restaurant open in front of a grocery store. A few days later, the restaurant owner goes to the store and ask for dog food. As the seller thinks Chinese don't have dogs, as they eat them; he suspects [[EatingPetFood the dog food will be served to the customers of the restaurant]]. He asks:

::Puzzled, the Chinese man goes back to the restaurant, and come back with his dog, at the end of a lead. The grocery guy then accept to sell him dog food. A few days later, the restaurant owner is back to the grocery store, and ask for cat food. Once again, the seller suspect him to eat cats and subsequently to lie to him.

::The Chinese guy comes back a few minutes later with his cat in a carrier, and is then authorized to buy cat food. And a few days later, he comes back with a closed plastic container, put it on the counter, and ask the seller to have a look inside. The latter open the box, and is horrified to observe that it contains feces.
-->'''Seller:'''-Are you nuts? What does this means?!

-->'''Restaurant owner:''' Well, you seems to be a suspicious person, who always ask for proofs before selling anything, and today, I came to buy toilet paper.

* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats''. One of the characters is a Maori kid whom the Dog worries is measuring him for a dogskin cloak, and one day he's going to wake up with his fur stretched on a rack while everything else is being cooked with vegetables in a pit oven for a hangi dinner.

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': One Rantanplan story has Rantanplan be the PetHeir to a large amount of property, including most of a {{Chinatown}}. This causes him to be variously abducted by the residents of the Chinatown to protest the rents and living conditions or taken by a restaurant to be made into lacquered coyote while still alive (Rantanplan thinks he's enjoying a sauna in a beauty salon). Meanwhile, the Daltons get involved (as they're next in the inheritance after Rantanplan) after Averell mentions he wanted to try eating dog, leading to the Chinese allying with the Daltons.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In 2020, [[BannedInChina China banned the commercial slaughter and sale of dogs for human consumption, declaring them to be companions and not livestock]]. This came in the wake of a hell of a lot of controversy among Chinese regarding the practice, particularly surrounding the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee_and_Dog_Meat_Festival Lychee and Dog Meat Festival]] in Yulin, a city in the Guangxi province of China, including many concerns and accusations regarding animal cruelty.
* Despite being Muslim countries, which considers dog meat as ''[[ScavengersAreScum haram]]'', there are cases in Malaysia and Indonesia where dog meat is sold in markets. Malaysia even considers dog meat as legal, although it has been taken issue with in recent years.
* The Philippines:
** While the country considers dog meat as illegal, there are still cases, especially in Baguio City where dog meat, likely from stray dogs, is consumed there.
** Also from the Philippines, there were urban legends spread that "siopao", or steamed buns, [[https://pepper.ph/mythbusting-siomeow-really-use-cats-siopao/ were composed of cat meat]]. It has since been debunked, and might have taken origin as smear campaigns either by Filipinos against Chinese immigrants or Chinese restaurant owners against each other.
* In South Korea, in the 1970s, dogs were classified as ''livestock'', allowing for their slaughtering, though the legal status of ''gaegogi'', as dog meat consumption is called in Korea, is ''highly'' disputed these days, and it is on the decline at the least -- 2018 saw the Moran Market, the largest dog meat market in South Korea, close down after declining sales, the Taepyeong-dong complex which served as a slaughterhouse for dogs was shut down by the South Korean government in that same year, and a municipal court ruled in 2018 that killing dogs for their meat is illegal.
* In North Korea, there's official list of prices for items including dog meat.
* Vietnam:
** Dog and cat remains on the menu in Vietnam, to the point where stalls selling them are still visible in local markets and restaurants specializing in them still exist. Historically, domesticated animals were legitimate source of meat and as workers (guarding the house, catching mice), etc., as most people were peasants or tradespersons who could not afford to keep something for aesthetics or emotional value. Additionally, with the country's history fraught with wars and famines, Vietnamese people were forced to get creative with their menu or starve to death. The concept of animals as pampered pets or family members is comparatively recent and rising in peacetime alongside the "import of Western values."
** The dog and cat meat industry, however, are routinely condemned by the Vietnamese public and media themselves because they don't exclusively farm the animals they sell. Beloved family pets are still being stolen (or grabbed if found wandering alone) and sold to restaurants, regardless of breed. Rescue organizations and private owners would have to track them down, and (if they're extremely lucky) pay an exorbitant ransom for their pets. These places still exist because they're not banned, and enough people believe that eating dog/cat is "traditional", delicious, or that giving it up would be "capitulating to foreign morals".
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* In South Korea, in the 1970s, dogs were classified as ''livestock'', allowing for their slaughtering, though the legal status of ''gaegogi'', as dog meat consumption is called in Korea, is ''highly'' disputed these days, and it is on the decline at the least -- 2018 saw the Moran Market, the largest dog meat market in South Korea, close down after declining sales, the Taepyeong-dong complex which served as a slaughterhouse for dogs was shut down by the South Korean government in that same year, and a municipal court ruled that killing dogs for their meat is illegal.

* In South Korea, in the 1970s, dogs were classified as ''livestock'', allowing for their slaughtering, though the legal status of ''gaegogi'', as it is called in Korea, is ''highly'' disputed these days.

* Despite being Muslim countries, which considers dog meat as ''[[ScavengersAreScum haram]]'', there are cases in Malaysia and Indonesia where dog meat is sold in markets. Malaysia even considers dog meat as legal, although it has been taken issues with in recent years.

* In South Korea, in the 1970s, dogs were classified as ''livestock'', allowing for their slaughtering.

One of the most common stereotypical food dishes for East Asian, and Southeastern Asian countries is the flesh from dogs and cats. This is usually done to convey how different Asian cultures are from the rest of the world since cynophagy is considered taboo in the West. The only country that seems to get a break from this is Japan, and even then, eating domesticated pets ''isn't'' illegal there. Some could also argue that eating dogs and cats and pigs isn't any worse than eating cattle and chickens.

SubTrope of ForeignQueasine, since it's almost always non-Asian works making this joke. Almost always overlaps with ExoticEntree. See EatTheDog for non-racist depictions of eating "pet" animals, including in Asian media. Expect IAteWhat after someone eats a particular Asian meat dish if they manage to accidentally consume dog, cat, pig or other pet meat.

* Invoked in the RapidFireComedy ''Film/BrainDonors'':

** Walking Chinese stereotype Ching-Kee eats cat gizzards for lunch (yes, we know cats don't have gizzards, it's a reference to a [[https://youngadultliterature.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/stereotypes-in-american-born-chinese/ notorious anti-Chinese cartoon]] by the US editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant).

* ''Series/TheGoodies and the Beanstalk'' the grand prize for climbing the beanstalk is 5000 puppies which, if no-one claims the prize, will all be given to Indian restaurants.

* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats''. One of the characters is a Maori kid whom the Dog worries is measuring him for a dogskin rug, and one day he's going to wake up with his fur stretched on a rack while everything else is being cooked with vegetables in a pit oven for a hangi dinner.

* In one gag of ''ComicBook/BouleEtBill'', Boule and his parents unsuccessfully try to find a restaurant where they can have lunch, as they won't allow dogs in -thus, Bill. After a few rejections, the family try a Chinese restaurant, and the owner answers: "Of course, we accept dogs! We like dogs! In fact, we love them!" while looking at Bill so suspiciously that the latter run away.

Puzzled, the Chinese man goes back to the restaurant, and come back with his dog, at the end of a lead. The grocery guy then accept to sell him dog food. A few days later, the restaurant owner is back to the grocery store, and ask for cat food. Once again, the seller suspect him to eat cats and subsequently to lie to him.

The Chinese guy comes back a few minutes later with his cat in a carrier, and is then authorized to buy cat food. And a few days later, he comes back with a closed plastic container, put it on the counter, and ask the seller to have a look inside. The latter open the box, and is horrified to observe that it contains feces.
-->'''Seller:'''-Are you nuts? What does this means?!\\

And the restaurant owner answers:

-->'''Restaurant owner:''' Well, you seems to be a suspicious person, who always ask for proofs before selling anything, and today, I came to buy toilet paper. \\

One of the most common stereotypical food dishes for East Asian, and Southeastern Asian countries is the flesh from dogs and cats. This is usually done to convey how different Asian cultures are from the rest of the world since cynophagy is considered taboo in the West. The only country that seems to get a break from this is Japan, and even then, eating domesticated pets ''isn't'' illegal there. Some could also argue that eating dogs and cats isn't any worse than eating rabbits, cattle, chickens, and pigs, as all of these can be raised as pets or as livestock just like dogs and cats.

SubTrope of ForeignQueasine, since it's almost always non-Asian works making this joke. Almost always overlaps with ExoticEntree. See EatTheDog for non-racist depictions of eating "pet" animals, including in Asian media. Expect IAteWhat after someone eats a particular Asian meat dish if they manage to accidentally consume dog or cat meat.

South Asian and West Asian people are usually stereotype the opposite way due to both culture being infamous for religion based dietry restrictions for example what meat is Halal and Haram for Muslims. Dogs and cats which are haram for consumptiln would not be eaten in those cultures. Hindus are known for being advocates of vegetarianism or veganism so eating weird animals is not associated with them either.

One of the most common stereotypical food dishes for East Asian, and Southeastern Asian countries is the flesh from dogs and cats. South Asians and West Asians people are usually stereotype the opposite way due to both culture being infamous for religion based dietry restrictions like Halal and Haram for Muslims. This is usually done to convey how different Asian cultures are from the rest of the world since cynophagy is considered taboo in the West. The only country that seems to get a break from this is Japan, and even then, eating domesticated pets ''isn't'' illegal there. Some could also argue that eating dogs and cats isn't any worse than eating rabbits, cattle, chickens, and pigs, as all of these can be raised as pets or as livestock just like dogs and cats.

One of the most common stereotypical food dishes for East Asian, South Asian, and Southeastern Asian countries is the flesh from dogs and cats. This is usually done to convey how different Asian cultures are from the rest of the world since cynophagy is considered taboo in the West. The only country that seems to get a break from this is Japan, and even then, eating domesticated pets ''isn't'' illegal there. Some could also argue that eating dogs and cats isn't any worse than eating rabbits, cattle, chickens, and pigs, as all of these can be raised as pets or as livestock just like dogs and cats.

* A new Chinese restaurant open in front of a grocery store. A few days later, the restaurant owner goes to the store and ask for dog food. As the seller thinks Chinese don't have dogs, as they eat them; he suspects [[EatingPetFood the dog food will be served to the customers of the restaurant]]. He ask:
-->'''Seller:''' Do you have a dog, sir?'''\\

'''Seller''' Can I see it then?

This trope is considered outdated to the point of being a DeadHorseTrope[[note]]Funny enough, on the emphasis "horse," Chinese people and Koreans rarely eat horse meat, while Japanese and Mongolian people do[[/note]]. As mentioned above, a lot of countries in Asia have outlawed the consumption of pet meat, especially since the start of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, when it was suspected that the virus originated from a fish market in China. A good majority of these examples are just Asian characters being teased about eating pet meat, or a vibe to not go to Asian restaurants because of the possibility of eating pet meat. Many relatively "straight" examples of this trope seem to come from Vietnam War era depictions. Due to ValuesDissonance, if a work were to play this trope straight now, it would be heavily criticized. These days, one is more likely to see this stereotype brought up to display a non-Asian character's ignorance and/or racism.

* In 2020, China banned the commercial slaughter and sale of dogs for human consumption, declaring them to be companions and not livestock. This came in the wake of a hell of a lot of controversy among Chinese regarding the practice, particularly surrounding the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee_and_Dog_Meat_Festival Lychee and Dog Meat Festival]] in Yulin, a city in the Guangxi province of China, including many concerns and accusations regarding animal cruelty.
* Despite being Muslim countries, which considers dog meat as ''haram'', there are cases in Malaysia and Indonesia where dog meat is sold in markets. Malaysia even considers dog meat as legal, although it has been taken issues with in recent years.

This trope is considered outdated to the point of being a DeadHorseTrope[[note]]Funny enough, on the emphasis "horse," Chinese people and Koreans rarely eat horse meat, while Japanese and Mongolian people do[[/note]]. As mentioned above, a lot of countries in Asia have outlawed the consumption of pet meat, especially since the start of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, when it was suspected that the virus originated from a fish market in China. A good majority of these examples are just Asian characters being teased about eating pet meat, or a vibe to not go to Asian restaurants because of the possibility of eating pet meat. Many relatively "straight" examples of this trope seem to come from Vietnam War era depictions. Due to ValuesDissonance, if a work were to play this trope straight now, it would be heavily criticized. These days, one is more likely to see this stereotype brought up to display a character's ignorance and/or racism.