Is eating your dead pet considered uncivilized?

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A man's dog gets run over by a car. The man runs outside to mourn the death of his beloved pet.
Afterwords the man picks up the dead animal and carries it inside. He then skins the dog and cuts him like a butcher would a pig.
He takes the meat and seasons the dead animal and throws it into the oven to roast.
He feeds his family for free and his beloved pet becomes part of him.
The neighbors find out about his family's feast of dog meat. They ridicule the poor man and his family mercilessly.

Are the man and his family considered uncivilized,morally wrong or insane?
Was ridicule form his neighbor necessary?
What is the meaning of civilized?

People eat dogs in many parts of the world.

You eat chickens cows and whatever and now you're concerned over a dog? I say let's eat and don't discriminate then. We should also eat dead bodies and roaches. I doubt that would be much more unhealthy than your regular meat. Neighbors, however, definitely should be charged for something.

All human cultures distinguish between livestock and pets / hunting companions. We connect to the latter on a much deeper level and often treat them as family members. Insofar, it is understanding that eating a beloved family pet is almost as disturbing as cutting up and roasting grandma after she died in her sleep. It's simply too close to cannibalism.

There are exceptions though. Many Germanic tribes used to eat their horses after they died or had to be put down due to a severe injury. Humans have hunted horses for meat since paleolithic times, and all American horse species were hunted to extinction at the end of the last ice age (horses were later reintroduced by the Conquistadores). If you think about it, there is little difference between a horse and a deer or a cow.

Horse meat only became taboo when Pope Gregory III outlawed its consumption in the early Middle Ages. This was probably an attack on the religious practices of heathen Germanic tribes that sacrificed horses during certain rituals, although some sources claim that the reason was a shortage of warhorses. But we never stopped eating horse meat around here.

There are still horse slaughterhouses in Germany, which are sometimes jokingly referred to as Pony Slaystations Of course they aren't bred for their meat. It is usually old horses that get slaughtered. Unlike the meat of ruminants, horse meat becomes more tender with age. It tastes like a cross between beef and venison and is very tasty if cooked right. Most people only buy it as cat and dog food, because it's very lean and much healthier for pets than beef, but I occasionally treat myself to a horse roast.

My personal ethics and taboos regarding meat: I don't eat carnivores. Humans are omnivore predators, and I think we should respect our fellow predatory species, many of which have been domesticated as hunting companions. All other animals are prey / meat, no matter how cute and cuddly they are. I'd never keep a pet bunny for that reason. I've been taught not to play with my food

As an afterthought, carnivores also tend to be a lot more intelligent than herbivores. Hunting moving prey requires a lot more cognitive skills than hunting down grass patches That also makes it easier for us to connect to them on a deep level. Not that horses aren't intelligent, but it's not quite the same. I've never felt a real connection to any non-human animal that didn't have the bright, intelligent eyes of a carnivore and a pair of fangs.

Actually, that's not exactly true. I've grown up with cats and felt very sorry for the poor mice and birds that they brought home from their hunting expeditions. But this also taught me to sort (non-human) animals into companion species and prey species. When I nowadays see a little bird that has fallen out of its nest, I still feel sad, but at the same time I'm happy for the cat or fox who will come across this tasty morsel. That helps me get over my impulse to "rescue" the poor little snack. Nature works best when humans don't mess with it.

It's seen an uncivilised, but I can;t understand why.

The only difference between the cow that your hamburger used to be and your dog is that one lives in your house. It's a silly thing that people need to get over. Meat is meat.

People on farms do the same thing with chickens, pigs, cows... etc. I see nothing uncivilized or immoral in what he and his family did.

I don't think it should be outlawed, but it's definitely a bizarre thing to do..."Spike is no longer with us...But the good news is I put him on ice not long after he left!"

It depends ... is the pet a chicken or rabbit, or a dog or cat?

Where, apart from the Chinese and the Koreans?

Also, you might want to watch a documentary that aired on UK TV some years ago about some guy who picked up dead badgers from the side of the road and happily ate them. He got death threats and all-sorts. The documentary is called Wonderland: The Man Who Eats Badgers, a BBC documentary about retired civil servant Arthur Boyt. Quite shocking really.

The Philippines, Switzerland, and Vietnam.

Eating dog meat is forbidden under both Jewish and Islamic dietary laws, as dogs are considered to be ritually unclean (Trefe and Haram, respectively) in these two faiths.

It's a dead dog.

I find it no more uncivilized then eating beef or chicken. The dog was already dead so it is less cruel to eat the dog than it is to eat a cow killed in a slaughter house. I think that Buddha would have agreed with me.

The Chinese once ate dog meat when they couldn't afford better. Some still do eat dog.
Some people in the U.S. find their food in a dumpster. They cook it to kill the bacteria and I find that to be very intelligent.

Schweizer wählen Hunde als Nahrung?

How odd! Must look that up!

Edit: Production of food from dog meat is illegal in Switzerland.

Well ... if you believe Wikipedia, then here's a link to their article on Dog Meat.

I have to admit that I have not yet checked out the article's references.

I gather that dog is not the healthiest of meats to consume. You're eating a scavenger, after all. I've also heard comment that it doesn't taste that good, but I've never tried myself!

My most exotic meat to date has been reindeer. Rich and tender, I can recommend it.

I have always wanted to try reindeer and buffalo. I hear it's a great alternative for beef.