Hawai‘i should stop allowing the killing of companion animals for food.The Hawaiian Humane Society closes its eyes to backyard slaughter of dogs. It saddens me greatly that in Hawai‘i dogs are killed for food. Currently, it is legal here to kill dogs, as long as they are killed in a “humane manner.” The dog is shot in the head, a method considered quick and painless by the Hawaiian Humane Society. It is known as “backyard slaughter.” As long as you are eating the meat, it is legal.
There are actual businesses in Hawai‘i breeding dogs and slaughtering them. There are also many instances where dogs are stolen from families. There are drug addicts who steal dogs to sell them for that purpose in order to get cash to fund their drug habit.
It is not just one ethnic group eating the dogs and it doesn’t matter which group it is; what matters is it is just plain wrong. Dogs are intelligent, loving companions.
In the last two attempts to pass legislation to stop this practice, the Hawaiian Humane Society did not stand up for dogs. It appeared, instead, that they were worried about offending a particular ethnic group. The Hawaiian Humane Society must change that way of thinking and look at this as a case where many groups are eating dog meat and no matter what the group is, it is still wrong. There will be no change in the law without help from citizens like you.
Here are a few things we can do: go to www.envirowatch.org to read about the undercover work done in Hawai‘i. Go to www.animalrightshawaii.com to become involved with a group planning to bring this issue to the legislature in upcoming months, or email for a hard copy of the petition at selkie@hawaii.rr.com. Contact your state senators and representatives, and tell them you want legislation passed making it illegal to kill and eat dogs and cats.
Only with your help and support will we be able to rid our island paradise of the cruel practice of slaughtering companion animals for food. This occurs in South Korea and the Philippines too, and there are campaigns to stop this in Asian countries. Go to www.idausa.org to sign a petition to end this in Korea. But I hope you will wish to stop this in our state, too.