High-Level Meeting in Vietnam Advances Plans to Phase Out the Dog and Cat Meat Trade
FOUR PAWS presented a proposed roadmap outline at the third Companion Animals Technical Working Group meeting, together with Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, to end the Dog and Cat Meat Trade in Vietnam
Vienna/Hanoi, 27 January 2026 - As part of the One Health Partnership (OHP) framework for zoonoses in Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), in collaboration with global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, organized the third Companion Animal Technical Working Group Meeting (CA TWG). Today’s meeting addressed key issues related to companion animals, including the gradual transformation of the dog and cat meat trade, updates on general dog and cat welfare in Vietnam and lessons from the Hanoi pilot project on rabies prevention. FOUR PAWS presented key elements of its proposed roadmap to phase out the dog and cat meat trade (DCMT) in Vietnam by 2030, with the aim of protecting public health and strengthening animal welfare under the coordination of OHP.
In his opening remarks, Ph.D. Phan Quang Minh, Deputy Director General of the Department Animal Health and Production, highlighted the ongoing challenges in companion animal management in Vietnam, including free-roaming dogs and cats, limited registration and vaccination coverage, and risks associated with the trade and transport of dogs and cats, which pose threats to public health, food safety, and animal welfare.
Strengthen companion animal welfare through a One Health Approach
“These challenges require a comprehensive One Health approach, with close coordination among animal health, human health, environmental sectors, local authorities, and community participation. Accordingly, the development of the roadmap at this juncture represents a necessary and timely measure to ensure effective management and resolution of the aforementioned issues,” says Minh.
The National Roadmap until 2030
The meeting focused on developing a national roadmap to reduce and progressively end the DCMT, aligned with the goal of rabies elimination in Vietnam by 2030. Participants agreed that the roadmap should centre on policy and legal development, stronger enforcement, improved companion animal population management and vaccination, behaviour change communication, and adequate support for alternative livelihoods. The proactive role of FOUR PAWS in supporting the roadmap’s development—alongside government bodies and partners—was acknowledged, while stressing that sustained engagement and contributions from government agencies, local authorities, international organisations, embassies, and development partners will be essential for successful implementation over the five-year period.
Since joining the OHP in May 2023, FOUR PAWS has served as standing co-chair of the CA TWG, successfully leading two Technical Working Group meetings. The meetings brought government agencies and partners together to agree on key priorities for companion animal health and welfare, including rabies control and humane population management, with particular attention to health risks associated with the dog and cat meat trade (DCMT). At the latest high-level annual forum, FOUR PAWS also recommended a roadmap to gradually phase out the DCMT in Vietnam by 2030, contributing to discussions on a more humane, safe, and sustainable approach.
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as 13 wild animal sanctuaries and cooperation projects across the globe, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org