Pho Na, a Vietnamese restaurant in London’s Southwark, was caught selling dog meat labelled as “goat wrapped in leaves,” according to British media coverage of the court trial.
Health inspectors visited the restaurant where they took a sample of the meat and sent it for analysis, Bromley Magistrates' Court was told. The meat was later confirmed to have belonged to a dog, not a goat.
Health inspectors also reported seeing mouse droppings and cockroaches in the dining establishment.
The defense
Restaurant owner Vuong Quoc Nguyen pleaded not guilty to multiple food safety and hygiene offences.
Piers Kiss-Wilson, a solicitor representing Nguyen, claimed the 47-year-old was unaware the so-called goat was actually dog meat.
Kiss-Wilson further claimed that the product was not intended for human consumption and had been provided to him for another person.
The solicitor also stressed that pest control had been called in to try to handle the infestations.
Nguyen is now set to stand trial at Bromley Magistrates' Court on December 18.
Before the dog meat was discovered, Pho Na enjoyed a 4.6-star rating, according to The Sun.
While not commonly consumed in Britain, dog meat is eaten in a number of other countries, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
According to the organization Humane World, around five million dogs are stolen, trafficked, and killed for their meat in Vietnam.