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TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall sparked outrage this week when he claimed that he thought eating puppy meat was acceptable and that he had no objection with organic puppy farms. MR Fearnley-Whittingstall is a veteran animal welfare campaigner and has just finished a book of vegetarian recipes. In the past he has admitted to eating placenta pate, curried fruit bat and calf testicles. Asked whether he would try loin of Labrador, he told the Radio Times:
“Not unless I was on the point of starvation. In principle, but not in practice, I have no objection to a high-welfare organic puppy farm.
“You can't object, unless you also object to the farming of pigs. It’s an artificial construct of our society, a cultural decision, to make pets out of dogs and meat out of pigs.
“Both animals could be used the other way round, although pigs probably do make better meat than dogs and dogs better pets than pigs, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.”
Beverley Cuddy, the editor of Dogs Today, said: “The dog has evolved so much in the time he has been with us to become part of the family.
“It would be objectionable to start eating our best friend. Dogs are so intelligent and so useful in so many ways. Just to kill them for meat is disgusting and a huge insult to man’s best friend.”
The Dogs Trust added: “The concept of breeding dogs for food in any conditions, high welfare or not, is wholly unacceptable. Dogs are companion animals and provide immeasurable love, comfort and support to owners.
“It should also be remembered that any acceptance of the breeding of dogs for meat could be seen as condoning the practice as carried out in countries such as the Philippines. “There, dogs are reared and transported for meat purposes in truly appalling conditions.”
What an idiotic man MR Fearnley-Whittingstall is. I was a once vegetarian and only just after me turning 18 did I decide to turn myself back into a carnivore and participate in the eating of meat again. The reasoning behind my diet change after 2 years is simply because the lack of meat and the “goodness” in it was making me ill, weak and feeble and if I resumed in my none eating meat ways I probably would have ended up rather seriously ill. If I was fine however with the effects of not eating meat of any kind then I would still be doing so today and albeit that probably sounds like a waste of time in terms of principles I still have values and if I do decide to have a slice of ham or steak, I ensure it is of the best possible quality so that at least I know the animals were treated well before being directed to some form of abattoir. The sheer thought of eating a dog or a puppy however is quite frankly more than obscene.
I don’t know what on earth MR. Fearnley-Whittingstall was thinking but to be honest I think he has lost all credibility. What on earth is he talking about? you cannot simply compare the likes of eating a pig to a dog! why? because even though I don’t feel immensely pleased when I dig into a Bacon Sandwich, without contradicting myself and the morals I stand for in terms of meat consumption, you cannot do a right lot about pigs being killed... it is a way of the world and as long as I know they had the best possible care and looked after before being slaughtered then, that shall simply just have to do. I think the likes of Vegans are slightly deluded, I think it is one of those situations of taking something a little bit far and to the next unnecessary extreme. You do not however consider at any point that I just fancy some dog meat and chips! it is utterly disgusting and dogs, canines or mongrels just CANNOT be classified as the same as a hearty pig or cow. A dog is a man’s best friend, the likes of guide dogs proves that they are intelligent, they are animals which are made for having some sort of social relationship with us fickle human beings, despite there being such a problem with the amount of abandoned dogs in this country.
I couldn’t give a FOUR X if is the norm in some foreign countries, the reality is if this was to become some form of trend here in the UK, I would expect people to be fined and even locked up for the lowest of the low in terms of animal cruelty... it is just simply unacceptable. From a wider perspective in other countries it could indeed be classified a delicacy, in which case you could refer to the rather strange French diet of snails and frogs legs. Not something which we would want on an everyday basis, maybe even not at all in ourselves... however the French see it as a tasty, nutritional meal. I would personally say that eating the likes of a Duck is more unacceptable than eating a Cow or a Pig for the simple reason that Ducks aren’t really a traditional food source and nor are they bred for the simple reason of eating, the same can be said for Rabbit.
I would think long and hard before personally eating a Duck... and would probably conclude that I would rather pass but the likes of a rabbit which belongs in a cage, I certainly would not consider! Have a piece of Pork, Bacon, Steak and Lamb by all means (bred to the finest quality of course) Dog on the other hand, not on your Nelly! I think MR. Fearnley-Whittingstall has shown himself up to be a rather bigoted, deluded man in this instance because I just do not classify it to be acceptable to say such a thing. The likes of the Philippines it may indeed be different and I personally respect that as that is that countries views on it and it is a different kettle of fish. To eat a slice of puppy here on the other hand is just repulsive. With the likes of the Dog’s Trust in place also, I would guess that it shall be unacceptable to do such a thing here int he UK forever and a day... MR Fearnley-Whittingstall should get a grip and everybody who respected him for his Vegetarian recipes and such shall have now run a mile and I imagine shall scupper his chances of book sales... besides people tend to brand exotic meats and compare them to chicken, clearly not missing much in terms of flavour or otherwise.Bring on the curries!
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