THAILAND (Reuters) - As the cold season approaches, many people in Thailand are turning towards their furry friends for warmth.

But not for fur coats or mink shawls...

Here people are enjoying more winter time with their pets ... but with the aid of a knife and fork.

Dog meat has always been popular in the northern city of Chiang Mai, but as temperatures drop, an increasing number of roadside food stalls are cooking up canine dishes.

Chado is said to be sweeter than most other meats and costs less than half of beef and its popularity is largely due to the belief that it's good for stamina and virility.

Known as "chado", the meat is often served grilled or fried and in the form of soup.

"It is believed that if you eat dog meat it will be good for stamina and it will warm up the body when the weather gets cooler," said one Thai resident.

Dogs are sold daily by villagers to the biggest dog butcher of San Pa Tong district, but it's not uncommon for some villagers to slaughter their pets themselves and cook them at home.

The tradition, however, has sparked outrage from Thailand's dog-loving community who say the practice of eating man's best friend is both cruel and unnecessary.

47-year-old dog lover, Chutimon Panpaeng says, "I disagree with it. I really hate it, but it's their right to eat whatever they want. But in fact there are so many things they can eat, so why do they choose to eat dog when they could have beef, duck or chicken?"

But for those with the acquired taste, the choice is simple. The meat of black dogs is most popular among diners and is believed to provide more sustenance.

Dog meat is eaten in a range of Asian countries including China, Korea and Vietnam.

dont they also eat dog in mexico?

and dont they usually try and eat the babies because their meat is more tender?

3 times , is that really necessary

I heard about this on the way home from college. But I wasn't sure what they talking about, all I understood it was food for dogs. And they carter to the dogs. That's about it.

As far as I understand it, dog meat has been a delicacy in Southeast Asia for more than a thousand years. As much as
I like dogs, I really don't see what the problem is.

Correct me if I'm wrong. So these dogs are eating other dogs? Sorry, I had to ask that question.

some moral issues come into play when you have a pet dog you don't want to eat dog but i have actually had bbq dog and it tastes very good.
it makes me sad to think they breed st bernards etc for food but i'd be a hypocrite to complain..because i have no problem throwin a cow on the grill.

Not my main choice of dish, but I'm not one to judge what another chooses to eat. Just seems a bit strange ...

For some reason I dont think that dropping a bomb on a country riddled with poverty is a good solution to what you see as animal cruelty, but hey It could just be me
It may be messed (sic) up but hey two wrongs dont make a right, I hope to god you werent serious...

Life feeds on life. Their culture just must have a different outlook on dogs then some others. The thing I can't see however is people eating their own pets. How could you eat your own pet? I can see if they raise these dogs in farms to eat, but your own pet!?

As a vegetarian, I really don't see the difference between eating a dog, a cow, a pig, a chicken...And what about lamb?

This one-sided and, to me, hypocritical point of view is very typical of our wester society, I find. One one hand we breed & slaughter some animal species on an industrial scale in horrific conditions and treat them as mere things, on the other we make a huge fuss about other species, humanize & disneyfy them to the point of absurdity.

The problem however with dog-eating in said countries is that the dogs are being clubbed to death in the most atrocious manner, and because people believe that a stressed out dog's meat is more tender, they beat and mistreat the animals in their tiny cages before they kill them.

no of coarse not....but i do feel moved in a disturbed way when hearing these things, i suppose its because i cant accept that its there way of life on one of our closest animal friends......i was a butcher myself once but, after i worked in the abattoirs and see the carnage it put me off but not entirely of meat....have you see what they do to cats and dogs it wrong and it doesnt feelright watching what they do.....surely they have another food alternative.....even when i went to austriala for 6 weeks i ate kangeroo nice it was, but i felt that wasnt right.....especially when one the next day came bounding up to me for affection, i thought to my self"i ate your friend", aaawwwwwww.so sad.

yes your wright but because of my experiences i now over the last 3 years have devoted eat all manner of vegetarian food...im a cook, so natural always comes first as for meat i pass.
i attain all i need from natural resources which dont let out blood curdling screems of distress...

Cool! Good on you, Kobie

no people do

Ok people, I've spent way too long removing profanities and insulting posts aimed at other members and nationalities from this thread. Flaming is not tolerated here so any more posts calling other people "moronic" or "idiotic" etc etc will result in warnings being issued.

Um, I'd rather eat a bagel then a beagle. I guess that is why I hesitate to travel to countries unless I know what's customary. Course there are some "delicacies" here in the States I won't touch either!

Ew. So people are eatting dogs in this story? Gross. >.< These poor dogs.

For all you vegitarians who chose that lifestyle because you think it's wrong to eat animals; plants are alive too! That's hypocracy!

But what if they were eating little kittens is that not wrong? If meat is meat then surely eating other people would be just as acceptable.

ah but dogs are not people..
eatin a kitten or a dog is one HUGE step away from cannibalism.

if dogs ran the world, they probably wouldn't have a problem with eating human beings either

I know someone who has eaten dog before. He said it was pretty good.

yep..ive eaten bbq dog. and they taste good, just like any other meat. it's kinda silly to imply that it's ok to eat a cow but not a dog, both are living creatures and neither of them WANT to be eaten.

I had hotdogs for supper.

In some parts of India cows are very sacred animals. I believe they think cows are a higher incarnation than a human. I could have my facts wrong though. To them, Westerners eating and herding cows would be a much bigger offence to them than them eating dogs to us.

eating dog is rrrrruff

Im Lakota, I eat dog, its good in stew.

Very well said, but I bet PETA hates these kind of articles BTW.... are all PETA peeps...vegans, or vegetarians? just curious. I've had many pets, including dogs and cats, and I've always wondered what they taste like. I like food, grew up watching the Frugal Gourmet with my dad, and I really appreciate all the different ethnic, cultural foods. I don't think I'd be able to raise a dog, for this, neither butcher, because of emotional attachment, but I would be willing to eat prepped dog, cat, whatever at someone elses home. Hmmm.... spicey crunchy chow.... I've always hated chow, and cocker spaniels. I'd devour them just to spite the breeds Hate to say it, but I bet English bulldogs and Neapolitan Mastiffs prolly taste best. My uncle raises and breeds both...maybe I should call him.

Eating domesticated animals is wrong. Who gives a damn if its a cow. Thats's not being hyprocritical to enjoy eating cows and hate the idea of eating dogs, cats, etc, etc. It would be hypocritical if you say you hated eating cows as you were eating on one. I don't know about you but to me when a dog gets hurt I feel a lot worse for it than when a human does. I'm not sure why that is, maybe because humans have more of a fighting chance for survival.