The truth about 'pressed dog'
actually known as ‘waxed meat’ in Mandarin
Rumors are circulating about dogs "being thrown in the oven and baked still alive" in China, showing a picture of a 'pressed dog' (see above picture) but actually, baking is never part of the process of the preparation of waxed meats.
The group "Hand In Hand with Asia's Animal Activists" describes the preparation of waxed meat as follows:
Wax meat (or waxed meat) is quite common in China, and especially during the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year). During that time, they’ll be exported to many countries around the world, including Malaysia.
The term “wax” in ‘wax meat’ doesn’t literally mean that they use wax to prepare the meat. After the preparation of the desired meat, the finished product has the glossy appearance of a meat covered in wax. It is actually salt-preserved meat. In the ancient days of China, there were no refrigerators to store meat… so this was one of the ways to preserve and keep it over long periods of time.
The pictures below documents the process of making
pressed dog meat
The animal is killed, skinned, and the chosen meat is de-boned, flattened, and then marinated with fat, salt, spice and/or wine for a night. After the meat has absorbed the marinate, it is left to air-dry in the dry wintery winds, and for days out in the sun.
Other preserved meats available are pork, duck, chicken, fish and other seasonal meats. They are easily available in Chinatowns especially during Chinese New Year. 'Preserved Dog' is most likely only available in China, Korea & Vietnam.
Please note: BAKING IS NEVER PART OF THE PROCESS OF THE PREPARATION.
This method of preserving meats is the same the world over and is similar to ‘salting’ to preserve meats and fish where there are no refrigerators to store meat. ‘Waxed Meat’ was one of the ways to preserve and store meat in ancient China and like in other countries, some things are passed down and are still available today.
We must stress that they are puppies, they are killed cruelly but pressed dogs is just the same as pressed duck, they are both animals and any animal is capable of loving and being a companion animal if given the chance.