Dog & cat meat trade phase-out
Government Policy
Expired
December 10, 2021
Summary
On 10 December 2021, the Hoi An City People’s Committee (UBND thành phố Hội An), Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FOUR PAWS, making Hoi An the first city in Vietnam to formally commit to phasing out the dog and cat meat trade. The MoU committed the City People’s Committee to phase out dog and cat meat from the city through enforcement of existing laws against dog and cat meat restaurants, free rabies vaccination and sterilisation programmes, public awareness campaigns, and rescue of animals from the trade. Before the MoU, Hoi An had over 10 dog and cat meat restaurants; by late 2024, only 2 remained, with at least one major closure in December 2023 documented as a direct outcome of the cooperative programme. The MoU’s two-year term concluded in late 2023, with continuing municipal campaigns operating independently thereafter, and the initiative has been referenced in national-level NGO campaigning and media as a model for other Vietnamese cities.
Background Context
Before the MoU, Vietnam had no nationwide statutory prohibition on the dog and cat meat trade. Some localities, including Hanoi, had issued advisory communications discouraging consumption, but no formal phaseout commitments with implementation mechanisms were in place. Hoi An is a UNESCO-listed heritage tourism city; local officials expressed interest in promoting Hoi An as a dog-and-cat-meat-free tourist destination, citing the connection between the local trade image and visitor perceptions. The Hoi An People’s Committee is documented as recognising that “rabies eradication will not be possible without tackling the dog and cat meat trade,” establishing public health and disease control as a primary institutional driver. FOUR PAWS had been conducting regional campaigns against the dog and cat meat trade in Southeast Asia and had engaged with Hoi An authorities throughout 2021 prior to the formal MoU signing. A survey reported in early 2022 by Vietnamnet stated that 95% of Vietnamese respondents viewed dog and cat meat consumption as not part of Vietnamese culture, indicating an enabling social context for the local commitment.
System Impact
System Scale Direction
System Contraction
Type
Changes Scale
Significance
Moderate
The MoU was signed by the Hoi An City People’s Committee and FOUR PAWS on 10 December 2021. Implementation included enforcement of existing laws and regulations against dog and cat meat restaurants, public awareness campaigns, free vaccination (over 3,000 administered) and sterilisation (540 procedures) for dogs, and rescue of animals from the trade. During the two-year project period, the number of dog and cat meat restaurants in the city declined from over 10 to a reduced figure. In December 2023, one of the city’s last remaining major dog meat restaurants closed, documented by both FOUR PAWS and Hoi An officials as a direct collaborative outcome. FOUR PAWS describes the MoU partnership lifecycle as concluded as of late 2023. As of late 2024, Hoi An Agriculture Technical Center Director Tran Thi Hong Trang reported only 2 restaurants still operating; Vice Chairman Nguyen The Hung confirmed that municipal campaigns would continue beyond the formal MoU. No legal challenges to the MoU or associated municipal policy are documented in sources consulted. The verbatim MoU text is not publicly available; details are drawn from FOUR PAWS press releases, official statements, and Vietnamese press coverage.
Anticipated Effects
If continuing municipal campaigns succeed in closing the remaining 2 dog and cat meat restaurants in Hoi An, the city would achieve its stated objective of complete elimination of the local dog and cat meat trade.
If Hoi An’s approach is adopted as a model by other Vietnamese cities or by national policymakers, it could influence the framework for dog and cat meat trade regulation across broader jurisdictions; such adoption is referenced in NGO campaign materials but not documented as an official national policy commitment in sources consulted.
Whether the reduction in Hoi An’s dog and cat meat restaurants has resulted in dogs and cats being diverted to the trade in neighbouring jurisdictions, or whether it represents a net reduction in the regional system, is not established in available sources.
Significance Rationale
The MoU and its documented effects are limited to a single city (Hoi An) rather than national scope, but within that jurisdiction the trade has contracted substantially and the commitment is referenced as a model in national policy discourse.
Key Actors
Hoi An City People’s Committee (signatory); Vice Chairman Nguyen The Hung (named municipal official). Hoi An Agriculture Technical Center, Director Tran Thi Hong Trang (technical implementation). FOUR PAWS (Four Paws International) (NGO signatory and implementation partner); Karen O’Malley (Dog and Cat Meat Trade Programme Manager). Named local outcome: at least one major Hoi An dog meat restaurant closed December 2023 under the cooperative programme.
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