In her wonderful book Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memory of Eating in China Fuchia Dunlop observes that, “There is nothing the British press prefers to publish...than a juicy story about a Chinese restaurant serving dog hotpot or penis stew."

So the headline in today's UK Times comes as no surprise: Cats and dogs to be taken off menu in China.

Apparently... "The country known for its experimental culinary traditions could be about to end a centuries-old custom and remove both animals from the menu. In what would be China’s first law against animal abuse, anyone caught eating cat or dog meat would face a fine of as much as 5,000 yuan (£450) and up to 15 days in jail. Organisations involved in the sale of either meat could be fined between 10,000 and 500,000 yuan. A draft law is expected to be sent to parliament, the National People’s Congress, in April, according to state media."***

It is indeed a perennial obsession this; dog-and-cat-eating seen as proof of irreducible barbarism on the part of the Chinese. (Case in point: the hostility blogger Michael Ohlsson encountered when he wrote about eating dog in Shanghai.) Also popular is the idea (aired again in The Times) that the pet-pampering, big-city-living Chinese middle classes are now up in arms against the practice. (It's a strange logic this: akin to thinking that French people will eat un cheval but would never dream of riding one, or that the Kiwis think of sheep as either cute or tasty, but not both.)

China's officials appear suprisingly sensitive to overseas sentiment on this issue, even going so far as to ban it from Beijing restaurants during the Olympics. Why people were not simply  told to "respect the public good and cultural traditions in China," which is what the authorities now expect of Google, isn't clear.

For tradition is precisely what it is. Anyone who's travelled around China will likely have seen dog on the menu somewhere. (Cat, for what it's worth, is an almost exclusively southern Chinese dish; though apparently even there young people are increasingly less inclined to eat it.) Dog is especially common in places like Guangdong in the south (where it's said of the people that they'll eat anything with legs except the table), and in the northeast, where a combination of cold weather (dog is seen as a warming meat) and proximity to Korea means the tradition is alive and well in towns like Dandong. But it's by no means confined to the provinces. In Shanghai, resturants like Lao Tan (where you can eat dog) do better business than the cafe at the Paradise Pet Club (where you can eat with your dog).

Whether this new law will be drafted, let alone passed, remains to be seen. Effective enforcement of such an ingrained practice seems even less likely. Perhaps it's only intended as a token measure to appease the furophile critics. (The Brits might continue to grumble, but they will at least be able to relate, what with their own "much-dodged" foxhunting ban.)  Besides, what kind of..ahem...pussy will be put off by the prospect of a 5,000 RMB fine and 15 days in prison?  If you want to dissuade people you really have to get tougher on sentencing. 12 years jailtime and 480,000 RMB? Now we're talking. That's what you get for eating a tiger.

No tradition ought to be immune from criticism. Barbarism in any form should be rooted out; and that includes cat-snatching. But the more pressing issue, particularly in a country not renowned for its standards of animal welfare, is surely the humane treatment of any animal that's killed for food. Banning gou rou (dog meat) is hardly the place to start.

*** SAME-DAY UPDATE: It appears that initial media reports misinterpeted the draft law (h/t Danwei), and that it is only "illegal" consumption of cat or dog meat that would attract a penalty. This means there could be exemptions for areas like the northeast where dog meat is still hugely popular. At a push, it might even mean that only establishments that could prove their meat came from humanely-treated animals would be allowed to stay open. Wonder whether the Times will run with that on their homepage again tomorrow...