Vietnam’s capital urges residents to stop eating dog meat

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Authorities in Vietnam’s capital are urging residents to stop eating dog meat because it hurts the city’s image and improper raising of the animals could spread rabies.

For many Vietnamese, dog meat is a delicacy that is thought to increase stamina.

Hanoi Vice Mayor Nguyen Van Suu said in a message published Tuesday on the city’s website that slaughtering and consuming dog and cat meat are disturbing to foreigners and hurt the capital’s image.

Suu instructed local governments to raise awareness of the risk of rabies when raising dog and cat meat.

The move is part of a national program to stamp out rabies by 2021.

Officials say there are 493,000 dogs and cats in Hanoi, of which more than 10 percent are raised for commercial purposes.