Uznews.net – The poor socioeconomic situation in Uzbekistan is slowly legitimising the shocking type of business – trade in dog meat and fat, and no-one is capable of preventing this cruelty.

More and more cafes and restaurants have started offering dishes of dog meat in Uzbekistan, and there are dozens of them in Tashkent alone.

Even though they do not openly advertise their specialities, each gourmand knows about these cafes and their prices, which range between 4,000 and 7,000 sums ($2-3.5) per dish.

The popularity of dog meat and fat is fuelled by people’s believe that they prevent tuberculosis and other lung conditions.

A chef of one of these cafes said that his cafe purposefully bred dogs to enable their clients to choose from their pack.

While some people are taking advantage of the poor socioeconomic situation to satisfy their eating preferences, a resident of Chirchik, which is outside Tashkent, called Zahida spends her paltry salary and savings on the survival of hundreds of stray dogs and cats, depriving herself of little human comforts and joys.

She gives shelter to animals that have suffered from human cruelty and cars. Her attempts to convince the local authorities to allocate a plot of land to build an animal shelter faced indifference from well-fed bureaucrats. However, she hopes that one day she will be able to fulfil her dream.

The defender of animals complained that stray dogs often fell victim to poachers who caught them to supply to dog meat cafes and restaurants.

According to some rumours, one of the illegal enterprises that supply dog meat is protected by high-ranking government officials and is located in the settlement of Nazarbek on the outskirts of Tashkent. This enterprise sells dog meat for about 10,000 sums ($6) per kilo and fat for 10,000 sums ($6) per 100 g.

Unfortunately, illegal animal trade that satisfies wealthy clients’ gastronomic tastes exists all over the world, even in countries the legislation of which bans it. But in developed countries laws and animal rights organisations work and there are results of it, whereas in Uzbekistan nothing can protect human rights, let alone rights of animals.