Rep. Dana Rohrabacher had an odd message for the Chinese people when asked about Chinese New Year: It’s OK that you eat dogs.

During an interview with Voice of America’s Chinese-language network in February, just after the start of the Chinese New Year, Rohrabacher was asked in an interview if there was any message he had for the Chinese.

Rohrabacher

“Well, let me just note, this is coming into the Year of the Dog,” Rohrabacher said. “Now, there are some people in the United States who don’t like it that Chinese people eat dog. And I want them, Chinese people, to know that we eat bunnies over here, and we eat all kinds of little animals. I don’t blame them for eating dog. If that’s what tastes good, that’s what tastes good.”

The interview was first reported by Splinter.

Rohrabacher has brought up the topic of China and dogs before, suggesting there were bigger issues than its treatment of animals.

In September 2016, he replied to a tweet asking why he did not support a bill to help stop China from “torturing millions of cats and dogs.” “Why focus on dogs?” Rohrabacher replied. “Do U hate Asians? Cattle, sheep, chickens, ect (sic) all suffer same fate. Saving people priority.”

In October 2016, he tweeted, “While deeply involved in saving Religious people in China, I will not trivialize the effort by bringing up how they eat dogs.”