Hundreds of people in the Tha Rae district of Thailand, infamous for its love of dog meat have rallied against a proposal to ban the slaughtering and eating of man's best friend.

More than 300 dog traders and butchers in Tha Rae, a district in Thailand's impoverished northeast, gathered in the market place Thursday to demonstrate against new provincial governer Panchai Borvornratanapran's initiative.

They demanded to meet with Panchai, who vowed to end the controversial practice after assuming office in June, said provincial spokesman Raksit Wathayotha.

Representatives of the dog traders later held a meeting with Panchai who agreed to ask a local educational institution in Sakhon Nakhon province to conduct a public survey on the business.

"The governor said he doesn't want to impose the opinion of the entire province, which favours ending dog-meat trading, on Tha Rae people," Raksit said.

"He wants them to make their own decison and he will not object if the majority of Tha Rae people still want to practice dog meat eating and selling."

Tha Rae district, some 650 kilometres (405 miles) northeast of Bangkok, is renowned for its slaughter and sale of dog meat, with 300 to 400 strays illegally rounded up daily and culled in the trade.

Panchai said there are some 17 dog slaughter houses and 300 people involved in dog meat trading in Tha Rae, which exports up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 pounds) of dog meat across the country every day.

Dogs are popular pets in Thailand and the majority of people find the practice of eating the animals repugnant. However, a sizable minority consider dog meat a delicacy.