It Is Perfectly Legal to Kill and Eat Dogs and Cats In Pennsylvania

A platter of cooked dog meat in China.

You’ve probably been doing most of your dog and cat eating in secret, ashamed to admit that as much as your pet Fido or Chloe was fun in life, well, they were much, much tastier in death. But it turns out that it is perfectly legal for you to chow down on Schnauzer Stew and Cassoulet de Chat in most of the 50 Enlightened States of America, including Pennsylvania. But the cretins in our state legislature may be about to pull the plug on these socially forbidden delicacies.

House Bill 1750 (below) is currently with the Pennsylvania State Senate and could go to vote any time after the General Assembly convenes on September 15th. If the bill becomes law, it would become illegal in Pennsylvania to kill a cat or dog for the purpose of human consumption or to sell cat or dog meat for human consumption.

The bill currently classifies the offense as a first-degree misdemeanor and specifies penalties of a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 or up to five years in prison, or both. But a second offense would become a felony, with fines of $2,500 to $15,000 or up to seven years in prison, or both.

The measure was first introduced in 2013 and passed the House over the winter. Then, earlier this year, it was amended to include a ban on live pigeon shoots.

It might be easy to find people to jump on the let’s-not-eat-dogs bandwagon, but anyone who thinks pigeon shoots are inhumane obviously hasn’t tried to sunbathe in Rittenhouse Square.

PHOTO: Creative Commons via Wikipedia.