Before eating the dog: Sorting and cleaning bodyparts and organs.

This photo is part of a series called Thịt chó: eating a (hot) dog. A lots of interesting comments and reactions have been posted on the various photo sites where this series has been published.

WARNING: These images are graphic, not suitable for kids and people with a weak stomach!

Western culture considers that eating a dog is cruel, barbaric and disgusting (not illegal, though), but ironically we have no problem eating all other sorts of animals as long as they are not called pets.

But for the vast majority of people on earth, cultural values are very different. Dog meat is considered a delicacy in some asian cultures, and indeed cooked dog meat is very tasty and protein rich. You should try it some day! (if you are not vegetarian)

"Food dogs" are not pets and they have no names. They are bred and raised in farms, just like pigs, cows, lambs, chickens and other farm animals. They are usually put down "humanely" just like any other farm animal, by slitting the throat and bleeding the animal until it passes out.- However some disturbing cases of food dogs being tortured before being slaughtered have been documented.

This series of photos shows the process involved in preparing a dog for dinner, from slautering to cutting-up, eviscerating, de-boning, cooking and of course eating! These photos were taken in Bac Ha, a small town in the Northern part of Vietnam, and in various markets of the region.

In case you are wondering, I did not order the dog for dinner, I just stumbled on the scene in the street and documented it, since I had my camera.