Authorities in the central city of Hoi An have co-operated with the animal welfare organisation Four Paws to close one of the city’s last remaining dog meat restaurants on Tuesday.

Located in Cam Pho Ward, in the popular tourist destination of Hoi An, the restaurant owned by a local man Pham Van Quyet used to serve over 350 dogs per year.

After operating in the area for nearly 15 years, Quyet recently agreed to work with Hoi An authorities to close his business, as he no longer wanted to be a part of the dog and cat meat trade. He said he was keen to set a good example for the other dog meat traders in the area, as the oldest of the three remaining restaurants, in the hope that the others might follow.

“When I heard about the Four Paws and Hoi An People’s Committee project, I felt I could contribute towards ending the dog and cat meat trade in the city by closing my restaurant,” he said. “I would encourage other restaurants to do the same.”

The restaurant, specialising in dog meat dishes, first came to the attention of the Four Paws team before the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Hoi An People’s Committee in 2021 to support the phasing out the dog and cat meat trade as part of efforts to become a ‘tourist-friendly’ city.

According to Four Paws, closing this renowned dog meat restaurant was the conclusion of a successful collaboration and follows a wide range of activities completed across the two years by the organisation. These have included mass sterilisation and vaccination drives, local authority training, and a public awareness campaign that saw billboards and LED screens positioned in prominent locations around the city highlighting the dangers of the dog and cat meat trade.

“This restaurant closure represents a positive step forward by Hoi An authorities to phase out the dog and cat meat trade,” said Karen O’Malley, Dog and Cat Meat Trade Programme Manager at Four Paws. “With many animals being taken from the streets or stolen from homes locally, we hope that taking dog meat off the menu permanently will protect the lives of thousands of animals in the future.”

Vice Chairman of the Hoi An City People’s Committee, Nguyen The Hung, shared that they’ve co-operated with Four Paws over the last two years to successfully implement several activities across Hoi An aimed at discouraging the dog and cat meat trade.

“While we know there is still work to do, this restaurant closure marks yet another step towards phasing out the dog and cat meat trade from our city, and we encourage other cities across Vietnam to do the same.” he said.