<P> British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans - Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food . Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's party ate sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole . This allowed the party to carry less food, thus lightening the load . When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes: </P> <P> there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog . One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them . In this way they get fresh meat . Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work . And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef . The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from . All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim--and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared . </P> <P> Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three - man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica . On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow - covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again . Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately . They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs . Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 315 - mile (507 km) return journey . Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat . Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained . The men also ate the dog's brains and livers . Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do . Mertz suffered a quick deterioration . He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent . On 7 January 1913, Mertz died . Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive . </P> <P> Roughly 20 million dogs are killed for consumption each year, making the People's Republic of China the world's largest consumer of dog meat . Although consuming dog meat is not illegal in mainland China, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has never issued quarantine procedures for slaughtering dogs . Selling dog meat as food is against the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China . According to the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China (2013 Amendment), dogs need to be vaccinated . Dogs for eating are not vaccinated, so they are illegal to transport or to sell; however, despite this, approximately 20 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption . </P>

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