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In South Korea alone it is estimated that 2.5 million dogs are eaten every year - and millions more are eaten around in the world, mostly in Asia.

Residents of many countries, however, view dog-eating as immoral, while the practice is forbidden by Judaism and Islam.

But one expert has claimed that eating dogs shouldn't necessarily be discouraged, and in fact adding the domesticated pets to our menus could be beneficial.

Warning: Some readers may find the images below distressing

Eating dogs is commonplace in Asian countries like Vietnam and Laos. But the CNN's John Sutter says we should also consider it in the West. He says eating shelter dogs is a good alternative to euthanisation. In this photo released by the Human Society International, a dog waits to be sold for meat in a market in Yulin, China

In an opinion piece for CNN John Sutter says eating dogs is the equivalent of eating pigs, another intelligent creature.

He cites figures from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that say 1.2 million dogs are euthanised every year in the U.S.

And he suggests eating them is not only an option, but it could also be helpful.

According to Sutter, in a book titled 'Eating Animals' vegetarian novelist Jonathan Foer writes: 'Unlike all farmed meat, which requires the creation and maintenance of animals, dogs are practically begging to be eaten.

'The simple disposal of these euthanised dogs is an enormous ecological and economic problem.'

The problem arises in the disposal of euthanised dogs - while some are cremated, others are left on landfills.

According to the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia veterinarians use potent drugs to euthanise pets.

But if not properly disposed and left on a landfill, 'scavenging wild or domestic animals can be poisoned by the drug remaining in the dead animal.'

And Foer continues: 'It would be demented to yank pets from homes. But eating those strays, those runaways, those not-quite-cute-enough-to-take and not-quite-well-behaved-enough-to-keep dogs would be killing a flock of birds with one stone and eating it, too.'

Sutter, however, does not condone the poor treatment of dogs intended to be food. One photographer who recently travelled to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to investigate the trade tells MailOnline it is a 'very touchy subject'. This photo from Yunnan Province, China shows dogs that were caged to be taken to restaurants

However Luke Duggleby, a photographer in Thailand who investigated the dog trade in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, is divided on the issue.

'Eating dog is a very touchy subject and one that can provokes incredibly angry responses,' he tells MailOnline.

'I personally wouldn't eat it and wouldn't support the idea of eating it but it is not my place to tell others what they can or can't do especially when they come from a totally different culture.

'I think it is fine to outlaw it in countries like ours that has a very close relationship with dogs and strong animal rights.

'But in a country whose culture it is and has been for a long time to eat it I don't think it is our place to tell them to stop.

'Hindu's don't get angry when the rest of the world eats cows so whilst people eating dogs is upsetting to us we must accept that the practise happens and try and see it from their perspective.

'Seeing the dogs being beaten in such a way was horrible and upsetting but it's my job to suppress my emotions and simply concentrate on the telling of the issue.'

 

US charity video against the Chinese dog-meat festival

Sutter cites figures from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) that say 1.2 million dogs are euthanized every year in the U.S. He suggests eating them is not only an option, but it could also be helpful. Pictured is a caged dog rescued by animal lovers in China on its way to a restaurant in 2012

Sutter does not condone the actions of the trade - which can include cramming dogs into cages among other abhorrent practices.

But he does question why we should frown so heavily on eating animals we regard as pets or friends, whereas others like cows and pigs are so readily eaten.

On Twitter, opinion has been divided on Sutter's piece.

'When is the last time a pig or cow saved a deaf kid from a burning [building]' writes @robertsamu88.

But @MattSchiavenza says: 'Having spent a lot of years in China, this 'eating dogs' op-ed is eminently sensible.

Recently in China activists took to the streets to protest against the country's Dog Meat Festival.

Held in Yulin, Guangxi province the event sees dogs killed and eaten in celebration of the summer solstice.

Animal rights activists say the event is a public health risk because the dogs undergo no quarantine to ensure they are free of disease, and that they are strays grabbed off streets around the country, as well as allegedly stolen from pet owners.

The dogs are often poisoned with toxic chemicals that could be harmful to humans, they say.