Fact Check

American Restaurant Granted Permission to Sell Dog Meat?

Some states ban the consumption of pets, but laws about eating uncommon meats vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and most commonly fall under animal cruelty laws.

Published Nov. 12, 2014

Pug dog making skeptical confused face against black background with dramatic gridded lighting. (Getty Images)
Pug dog making skeptical confused face against black background with dramatic gridded lighting. (Image Via Getty Images)
Claim:
A restaurant in Los Angeles or New York has been granted legal permission to serve dog meat.

On 10 November 2014, the web site TheNewsNerd published an article positing Los Angeles restaurant Pugon de Manila Eatery and Fine Dining was granted "provisional permission" to serve dog meat after its owners successfully argued a ban on that form of food violated their religious freedom:

Pugon de Manila Eatery and Fine Dining has been granted provisional permission to sell and consume dog meat, while the Supreme Court decides if their case has merit. The restaurant is allowed to slaughter up to 3 dogs per day, with the stipulation that they must be put down humanely. The World Animal Protection agency called the decision "shocking," and vowed to fight tooth and nail to ensure this act is not allowed to continue.

Pugon de Manila Eatery and Fine Dining says the dishes will range from American styled cuisine such as Chihuahua Chops to Korean-inspired dishes such as Boshintang (dog soup).

In January 2016, the Empire Herald plagiarized that article, simply changing to location from Los Angeles to New York:

The Oriental American Cuisine Association of New York has been granted permission to sell Dog Meat to its customers.

The Oriental American Cuisine Association successfully argued that the banning of consuming dog meat, which they pointed out, is in violation of their religious and cultural rights.

The organization has been granted provisional permission to slaughter, sell and consume dog meat, while awaiting the Supreme Court's final decision of their case.

It's worth noting the idea of a dog meat ban is a bit misleading. Some states ban the consumption of pets, but laws about eating uncommon meats vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and most commonly fall under animal cruelty laws. And the image used to illustrate the News Nerd article was swiped from earlier New York Times coverage of a dog meat festival in China.

Mainly, however, these reports are clearly hogwash because they both originated with fake news sites that fabricate clickbait "news stories" designed to gin up outrage at imaginary injustices. A disclaimer at the bottom of the News Nerd article notes that:

The stories posted on TheNewsNerd are for entertainment purposes only. The stories may mimic articles found in the headlines, but rest assured they are purely satirical.

The Empire Herald is an even lower-rent fake news site, carrying no disclaimer and generally stealing its material from other fake news sites.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.