South Korea's parliament on Tuesday approved by an absolute majority a bill banning the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption. The decision to end this controversial, centuries-old practice, which is still in force in almost twenty countries, was made with the support of the opposition and after years of intense debate in the Asian country where awareness of the welfare of animals was high and the number of owners of these pets. The consumption of this meat had now become uncommon and was mainly limited to older people and residents of rural areas.
The bill, which aims to “eradicate dog consumption,” was proposed by the ruling People Power Party and received unusual support in South Korea's divided Democratic Party political landscape. Overall, it received an overwhelming majority of 208 votes in favor and two abstentions, a result that shows how attitudes towards eating this meat have changed in recent decades. The draft will come into force once President Yoon Suk-yeol and his Cabinet give final approval.
The regulation, which will take effect in 2027, will penalize the breeding and slaughter of dogs to produce meat for human consumption, as well as their use, with up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won (more than 21,000 euros). sale, according to The Korea Herald newspaper. There is currently no penalty for consumption, so the regulations are mainly aimed at making the industry illegal.
According to the National Assembly, farm owners, restaurants and other workers in the sector have a three-year period to close or change their businesses. The new law will provide compensation to allow owners to make a “stable” transition to a different type of service, thereby avoiding protests such as those sparked by previous ban attempts. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, there are about 1,500 farms, 34 slaughterhouses, 219 distribution companies and about 1,600 restaurants selling dog meat products in South Korea.
Although the bill has broad support among the South Korean population, the Korean Edible Dog Association, a coalition of breeders and sellers, has announced that it plans to take the matter to the Constitutional Court to challenge the law's legitimacy. , although no further details were announced. In November, dozens of industry workers gathered outside the presidential office to voice their opposition to the proposal. That demonstration ended with clashes with police and some arrests, Portal reported at the time.
Ending the consumption of dog meat was one of the campaign promises of President Yoon, who is in power from 2022, and support for ending the practice has increased during his presidency. Both the South Korean leader and his wife Kim Keon-hee are animal lovers and live with four dogs and three cats. During her husband's time in office, the first lady actively supported the measure and was a key figure in raising awareness of the issue, according to some activists. “It was the right time to adapt to the times,” they say at the Korean office of the animal protection organization Humane Society International (HSI), pointing out that the approval is due, among other things, to greater political will that “has grown over time be”. The First Lady’s interest.”
Information is the first remedy against climate change. Subscribe to it.
Subscribe to
“We are making history,” Chae Jung-ah, managing director for Korea at HSI, told Yonhap News Agency. “We have reached the tipping point where the majority of Korean citizens reject the consumption of dogs and want this suffering to be consigned to the history books,” Chae told South Korean media. For his part, Lee Sang-kyung, head of HSI's campaign to ban dog meat, says: “As the economy has evolved and people's perceptions about animals and dog meat consumption have evolved, our options have also changed.” said Yonhap Agency.
In a survey of 2,000 South Koreans aged 20 to 69 released Monday by the Seoul-based think tank Animal Welfare Awareness, Research and Education, more than 94% of participants said they had not eaten dog meat in the past year or so 93% said they would not do it again in the future. In comparison, in 2020 only half of the population surveyed supported a regulation like the one passed on Tuesday; in 2017 the figure was less than 40%.
Eating dog meat has been popular in many regions of Asia for centuries because it is believed to have medicinal properties. As in some areas of Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines or China, in South Korea it was considered a food that counteracted the heat in the humid summer months and provided a cheap and readily available source of protein at a time when poverty rates were much higher.
In the particular case of South Korea, meat consumption usually increases during Bok Nal, which includes the three hottest days of the year determined by the lunar calendar and on which it is traditional to eat a soup made from this meat, known as bositang. However, in recent decades, the number of South Koreans who eat dog meat has fallen dramatically, and they tend to be older people, while young people and urban residents tend not to eat it, according to HSI, which notes the same trend can be observed in other countries on the Asian continent. According to official statistics, the number of restaurants serving dog meat in Seoul fell by 40% between 2005 and 2014 due to declining demand.
Although there is no data on global consumption of this meat, animal groups estimate that tens of millions of dogs are sacrificed for its production each year in Asia, Africa and the Americas. There is also one place in Europe where this practice persists, although not universally: Switzerland. Residents in some agricultural areas of the country eat dog meat jerky and sausages, and although it came under public scrutiny in 2015, there is still no ban.
You can follow CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_