By MANABU
SASAKI/ Correspondent
February 12, 2013
HANOI--For dog owners in Vietnam, the end of each lunar
calendar month is a time for extra vigilance: for this is when dognappers are
most active.
Dog meat features on menus across the country, and
stealing dogs is big business. Eating canine meat is said to purge bad luck.
But dog owners are fighting back, and even willing to
risk their lives to save their beloved pets.
A spate of recent high-profile incidents has led to calls
for stricter punishments against dog thieves.
In late October, Nguyen Trung Hieu heard his dog cry out.
He rushed to see two men who had arrived on a motorcycle
whisk his dog away. The animal had been tied up in the yard of Nguyen's
three-story home in Bac Ninh, a district 40 kilometers northeast of downtown
Hanoi whose streets are lined with elegant mansions.
As a member of a local administrative body, Nguyen, 30,
was a pillar of the community. The men fired shots at Nguyen, hitting him in
the waist and mortally wounding him.
"Everything occurred in the blink of an eye,"
said a neighbor, who was doing morning exercises in his own yard at the time.
"There was nothing I could do."
The neighbor said thieves had snatched two large dogs
from his own property during the past three years. He said one dog had cost him
$1,000 (94,300 yen).
On that occasion, he said four men arrived on two
motorbikes and grabbed the animal before he was able to react.
Many local residents keep guard dogs, but thefts
continue.
Stolen dogs often end up in restaurants. Others
apparently are sold as pets.
Large dogs fetch more than $100 per head, according to
news reports and other sources.
Thus, it takes the sale of only two large dogs to reap
more than the average monthly wage of $150.
The neighbor eventually decided to padlock his dog cage
and move it to a secluded location away from the street--even though it meant
less space for his Labrador retriever.
Residents across Vietnam are running out of patience at
the escalation of incidents carried out by professional thieves.
On the same morning that Nguyen Trung Hieu was slain in
Bac Ninh, a 23-year-old thief was caught in the act in Nghi Loc, Nghe An
province, 250 km to the south. The man was physically assaulted by neighbors
and ended up in a hospital with severe injuries. The motorbike he had been
riding was doused in kerosene and set on fire.
Last June, residents in Nghe An province caught a pair of
dog thieves red-handed and beat them up so severely that one of the men died.
Three months later, a stranger was mistaken for a dog
thief and subjected to physical abuse by residents.
A video uploaded on the Internet showed the image of a
man forced on his knees on a street with his hands tied behind him and
surrounded by local residents. A sheet of paper hanging from his neck said in
Vietnamese: "I am a dog thief. Please beat me."
"Use of excessive violence constitutes a crime, even
if the target is a thief," said one bewildered police officer.
Observers say the violent reactions to dognappers is the
result of the light punishments that are generally handed out by courts.
A person who steals a dog, and in doing so kills the
owner and is charged with manslaughter, can face imprisonment of 10 or more
years. But the mere theft of a dog is typically written off with a modest fine.
QUALITY KEY, SAYS OWNER OF DOG MEAT RESTAURANT
Vietnam's rapid economic growth has led to a sharp
increase in the number of households that keep dogs and cats as pets.
At one traditional marketplace outside Hanoi, caged
puppies were on sale as pets alongside a table displaying the meat of
slaughtered canines.
"We have never used a stolen dog," said Nguyen
Thi Minh, the 50-year-old owner of a famous dog meat restaurant in the Nhat Tan
district of northern Hanoi.
Eating dog meat was the "in" thing when the
restaurant opened in 1993. Nguyen said she had dozens of competitors in the
neighborhood in those days.
But rising land prices have caused many dog restaurants
to close or relocate, she said.
Nguyen said her shop buys dog meat from expert dealers at
about 470 yen per kilogram, although meat from stolen dogs is likely available
for around 300 yen per kg.
She said using good meat and hiring good cooks to maintain
quality has been key to remaining in operation for the past 20 years.
She said her clientele grows during the second half of
each lunar calendar month, when eating dog meat is said to shed bad luck.
Nguyen's restaurant sometimes buys up to 50 dogs a day during these busy
periods.
On one recent evening, customers feasted in her
restaurant on a variety of dog meat dishes: boiled meat, sausages and tail
soup.
"This gives me energy," said one diner.
Dog meat cooked with charcoal may be a little bit smelly,
but customers said it goes well with alcohol. Locals also enjoy dipping their
dog meat in "mam tom," a traditional sauce made from fermented
shrimps, or rolling it in fragrant leaves.
Dog meat is certainly not as popular as it once was.
Still, plenty of young women were seen feasting in Nguyen
Thi Minh's restaurant.
Early February was the riskiest time for dogs in Vietnam
this year, as that period fell on both the end of a lunar calendar month and
the end of a lunar calendar year.
By MANABU SASAKI/ Correspondent
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