Dog Meat

Dog Meat is consumed across Creation, as a delicacy or as an emergency food source. In the Scavenger Lands the meat is colloquially known as ‘siege mutton’ (and some dark jokes term human meat ‘long siege mutton’) after the event which most commonly necessitates its consumption, though ‘siege mutton’ stands can be found even in peacetime amidst the poorer districts of Nexus. In the far North, Sled Dogs are seen as superior animals as they provide their own food, after a fashion: on a difficult journey, the weak and slow dogs can be killed and eaten by the human drivers and stronger dogs.

This is far from universal: the role played by dogs, as guardians, pets, labourers, fighters, and companions builds a familiarity and sense of kinship which can make eating their flesh seem almost akin to cannibalism. Still other cultures view consumption of dog as taboo for religious or occult reasons (for example the Bull God Ahlat condemns those of his worshippers who dine on dog to ‘become as weak as babes and as barren as deserts’ and calls for eating Beef to cleanse tainted stomachs).

Even within the borders of the Blessed Isle, attitudes towards dogs vary. In general on the Isle, dog meat can be found in most cities, drawn from the Meat Dog breed, bred and raised as livestock. To eat such an animal is normal… it has been raised for that purpose… but the consumption of a Portee Lapdog or Dwarf Herder would seem strange and even disgusting. Cultural attitudes shift to either side as one moves towards the Isle’s peripheries: to many of the common folk dwelling in Arjuf Dominion and the surrounding Southern Isle, dogs are pets and work animals, the idea of eating them repugnant. In the Northern Isle around Chanos, stretching westward to Eagle Prefecture, the commoners would be thoroughly confused by such an attitude, unable to see how one could see the consumption of dog meat as reprehensible when one is salivating at the thought of Cattle flesh.

The flavour of dog meat varies with breed, diet, and lifestyle, but is generally considered to be a red meat and rather chewy compared to beef.