Inside the world of Vietnam's brutal dog-meat industry - PHOTO+VIDEO

It is a sight that will horrify any animal lover or pet owner.

Snatched from their homes, crammed into metal cages and force-fed for restaurant tables, these animals are the victims of Vietnam’s booming dog-meat industry.

Thousands of pets are stolen from gardens and front porches every year to feed the appetites of diners who treat dog meat as a delicacy.

Documentary makers from Channel 4’s Unreported World found that seven tonnes of live dogs are shipped to the nation’s capital Hanoi every day.

Many are stolen by thieves who drive round the streets at night on mopeds using lassos to catch unsuspecting pets.

Because they are sold by weight, they are force fed through funnels to increase their value before being hosed down and tightly packed in cages.

One busy holding house processes around 2,000 live dogs every day, with up to 200 squashed into each cage.

Once they arrive in Hanoi, the dogs are stored in deep pits before being slaughtered and sold on to restaurants to be cooked and eaten.

The owner of one slaughter house, Kieu Vu, told the documentary makers he slaughters up to 30 dogs a day.

Although there are rules for the humane slaughter of cattle, pigs and poultry in Vietnam, there are none for dogs and one animal was shown suffering repeated blows to the head before it died.

The documentary makers interviewed two dog snatchers who said they earned up to $100 [£61] a night by stealing pets. One boasted he had stolen more than 3,000 dogs in seven years.

On one road in a village in Nghe Ann province, almost 300 dogs have been stolen over the last few months.

Some diners believe the more an animal suffers before it dies, the tastier its meat is. They are usually bludgeoned to death with a heavy metal pipe, often taking more than ten blows.

Others have their throats slit or are stabbed in the chest, while some are even burned alive.

To increase their weight and thus their retail price, they are stuffed with rice and water via stomach tubes. Others have stones forced into their mouths.

Dog meat is more expensive than pork and can sell for up to £30 a dish in high-end restaurants.

Unreported World: Vietnam’s Dog-Snatchers airs on Channel 4 tonight at 7.30pm.

(dailymail.co.uk)

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