Horror as UK restaurant shut after 'dog meat disguised as goat found in freezer'

A UK restaurant was shut down after dog meat was found in a freezer, disguised as goat, according to court testimony. Health inspectors visited Pho Na restaurant in Old Kent Road in Southwark, London, discovered a meat labelled as "goat wrapped in leaves", only to discover that it was canine meat after tests, Bromley Magistrates' Court was told. Mice droppings, as well as live and dead cockroaches, were also reported to be present at the premises.

Its owner, Vuong Quoc Nguyen, 47, has pleaded not guilty of multiple food safety and hygiene offences. The defence, Piers Kiss-Wilson, said he did not know that the so-called goat was actually dog. The restauranteur also claims that it was given to him by someone else, and was not meant to be eaten by humans. In addition, Mr Kiss-Wilson mentioned that the owner had brought in pest control. Nguyen will stand trial at Bromley Magistrates' Court on December 18.

Pho Na is "permanently closed", according to Google, with the venue boasting a 4.6-star rating before the alleged offences, The Sun reported.

According to Humane World for Animals, dog meat is "particularly popular among men in northern Viet Nam, while cat meat dishes are especially common in Hanoi and the northern province of Thai Binh".

The organisation adds: "Despite this, there is growing local opposition to these trades, especially among young people and pet owners."

Vietnam is "somewhat unique" in Asia in terms of the "relatively widespread consumption of dog and cat meat".

Experts add that in most countries on the continent, such practices are "limited to a small minority".

But a Nielsen poll from September 2023 revealed that nearly 40% of the Vietnamese population consumes dog meat.

More than one in five (21%) eat cat meat, it also suggested.

Four Paws states that dog meat has been linked to regional outbreaks of trichinosis, cholera and rabies in humans in Vietnam.

It adds: "While the dog meat trade is often defended as 'tradition', the reality is that there are significant health and societal impacts associated with the trade and these are becoming of ever-growing concern within Vietnam and internationally."