A man transports dog meat on a motorbike in Hanoi
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Hanoi People's Committee urged local districts authorities to widely send warnings to residents about the risks of spreading diseases including rabies, cholera and spirillosis caused by eating dog and cat meat.
The committee also said that the trading and slaughtering of dogs and cats have badly affected the image of Hanoi.
Therefore the city officials hope that local residents should gradually give up the habit of eating dogs and cats.
The call has attracted lots of attention from the public many of whom support the city government.
"That's a good thing that integration brings to us," a reader commented on an article about the news on Dantri Newspaper. "We see how animals, especially pet dogs and cats are treated by our foreign friends and we've realised that they deserve better treatment."
However, many dog and cat meat lovers have considered the call ridiculous. They said that dogs and cats are just like pigs and cows, and that dog meat is a traditional dish and there was no point in giving it up.
Roasted, boiled or steamed, dog meat is regularly served in Hanoi.
According to the committee, there are now about 493,000 dogs and cats in the city, the vast majority of which are kept as domesticated pets, and about 1,000 restaurants selling dog and cat meat.
Three people have died from rabies in Hanoi since the beginning of this year, and two others were confirmed infected with the disease, according to official figures.