Killing Dogs OK in Poland

For 50 years, a man in Wieliczka, the southern town that lies right next to Krakow, had stolen and slaughtered dogs in order to make a Polish lard delicacy called smalec.

The 70-year-old man was arrested last month after a stolen dog was found in his apartment. Upon arrest, he admitted that he had been stealing and killing dogs for half a century, and his flat contained collars and muzzles from the pets he had pilfered. In addition, he then sold the smalec to his neighbours, some of whom had undoubtedly lost a pet to the man.

But yesterday the Krakow District Court found the man not guilty, despite his admission of having produced lard from dog fat. The court ruled that the dogs had been slaughtered in a humanitarian way for culinary purposes. Polish law does not specify which animals may be used for food, but rather that they must be killed humanely.

However, the court’s decision has already faced anger from the Krakow Animal Protection Association and other animal rights groups in Poland.

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