Dead goats sold along the road offend tourists

Many foreign visitors have complained about the dead goats being sold along the road leading to the Trang An Tourism Complex in Ninh Binh Province.

Many foreign visitors have complained about the dead goats being sold along the road leading to the Trang An Tourism Complex in Ninh Binh Province.

Goat meat for sale on the roadside leading to the Trang An Tourism Complex in Ninh Binh Province.

Many tourists choose to ride a bicycle and are perplexed to see smoked goats on the side of the road leading to Bai Dinh Pagoda. The stalls are usually opened from 10 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm. As the number of tourists increases during the weekend, sellers also choose this time to open their stalls.

Each stall has only one to three goats that have been smoked. The whole goat is put on display and the sellers will cut out the parts customers want. The goat meat is sold at VND350,000 (USD15) to VND450,000 a kilo. There are opinions that the goat stalls are hindering the traffic, ruining the landscape and offending tourists.

Some tourists quickly ran past the stalls so that they don't have to see the smoked dead goats, other stopped and took photos. The sellers weren't concerned about the photos. They stood on the street and waved to attract the attention of the drivers. They even smiled and posed by the dead goats for the photos.

Tourists take photos of a strange sight

Peter, a British tourist, said it looked like Vietnamese people like to display dead animals on the side of the roads but it was scary for tourists. The smoked and burnt goats are offensive and he didn't want to look at the exposed teeth.

Another tourist, Ana, said the animals were displayed at tourist sites. "Some animals we do not dare to eat in our country but they are specialties in Vietnam," she said.

According to her, the goats on the street are full of dirt so she doesn't understand why people can buy them.

Even Vietnamese tourists are also afraid of the sight and unhygienic food. "Who can make sure that those goats don't have germs? That the flies don't transfer disease into them? Who will take responsibility if consumers are sick?" Phuong Nhung from Thanh Hoa City said.

Trang An Landscape Complex was recognised as UNESCO World Heritage in 2014. Tourists come to Trang An for the scenic landscape and to understand more about the place that served as a cradle of civilisation of Vietnam over 1,000 years ago.