Sharks Fin Soup
The SPCA has previously written to the press to highlight the inherent cruelty to animals involved in the production of shark's fin soup. Other animal welfare groups have also highlighted the immense suffering of sharks caught for the shark's fin soup trade. Captured live sharks have their fins hacked off and are thrown back into the sea to bleed and drown to death. Finless and bleeding, they may also be devoured by other marine life.

Some environmentalists say tens of millions of sharks are killed every year. This voracious demand for fins has led to some shark populations declining by as much as 90 per cent in the past decade. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, some 18 species of sharks are already listed as endangered. At current alarming rates of finning, some may become extinct within the next decade.

Singapore International Airlines and Thai Airways International stopped serving shark's fin on their flights in 2001. More recently, in June 2005, Hong Kong's new Disneyland scrapped sharks fin soup from its wedding banquet menu after international pressure from shark conservationists.

Unfortunately, the consumption of sharks fin continues on a large scale. China's booming economy is boosting demand for the 'delicacy'. In Singapore, sharks fin soup remains a staple of most Chinese wedding dinner banquets. It has even been spotted for sale at hawker centers and wet markets.

Foie gras
Foie gras is a delicacy often promoted in gourmet restaurants. What is hidden from menus is the fact that the animals involved in its production, such as geese and ducks, suffer immense cruelty. A report by the World Society for the Protection of Animals in June 2000 describes the process: "The birds are commonly fed using a pneumatic pump forced down the throat, which injects up to half a kilo of maize and fat in a couple of seconds. This is repeated two or three times per day for up to three weeks, so that by the time it is slaughtered, a bird's liver will have swelled to between six and ten times its natural size. Many ducks and geese die prematurely from cardiac and renal failure, and liver haemorrhage."

Foie gras continues to be served in many restaurants in Singapore, a trend that does not seem to be diminishing. While previously a delicacy mostly served in French restaurants, it is now appearing on menus in other continental restaurants (and even in Chinese and Japanese cuisine).

For more information on the cruelty inflicted on animals in the production of foie gras, visit http://www.wspa-international.org/campaigning.asp

Slaughter of exotic meats for consumption
In December 2004, the SPCA wrote a letter to BG Lam Joon Khoi (CEO, National Environment Agency) and Dr. Ngiam Tong Tau (then CEO of Agri-food & Veterinary Authority), voicing its disappointment over the lack of plans to regulate the slaughter of exotic animals in line with that of other animals slaughtered for human consumption.

Without regulated and properly supervised slaughter, the SPCA is concerned that exotic animals in Singapore will be slaughtered inhumanely and in unhygienic conditions. Not only would this result in the unnecessary and aggravated suffering of animals, this poses significant public health risks. Already, the spread of SARS appears to have proliferated due to unhygienic slaughter conditions of exotics in China.

While authorities say they conduct occasional spot checks and send out reminders to stall holders, these are inadequate measures and a far cry from a regulated slaughter house.

The SPCA urges authorities to review the present practices of unregulated slaughter of exotics for consumption in markets and eating establishments. Implementing measures to keep the slaughter away from public view does not solve the problem of possible inhumane and unhygienic slaughter.

Dog and cat meat
The slaughter and torture of dogs and cats for human consumption is a disturbing practice. While exact figures are difficult to verify, Animals Asia estimates that up to 4 million cats and 10 million dogs are consumed in China each year. These animals are kept in hideous conditions and brutally slaughtered. In Guangzhou, field investigators saw 2,000 dogs at a wholesale market being squashed into tiny cages without food or water for days. These dogs were then grabbed by the neck with metal tongs and hurled into pens before suffering agonising deaths through cruel slaughter methods. Disturbingly, the dog meat trade is becoming increasingly industrialised and even promoted in certain regions.

For more information about the consumption of dog and cat meat, visit:
Animals Asia (China) - http:www.animalsasia.org
KAPS/IAKA (Korean) - http:www.koreananimals.org