South Korea wants to ban the consumption of dog meat

More than 80 per cent of the Korean population say that they have never eaten dog meat and have no plans to do so in the future, but there are still several farms in the country that supply restaurants. In recent years, both the government and the opposition have put forward several bills, although it is unclear how dog farmers will be compensated.

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – South Korea's main opposition party has announced that it will adopt a ban on the consumption of dog meat as its official policy and will try to pass the relevant legislation in Parliament by the end of the month.

“We are seeing a growing number of pet owners, and there were heightened international demands calling for South Korea to ban dog meat consumption. We asked members whether to adopt it as a party policy and the proposal was accepted with unanimous consent," said Yoon Young-deok, spokesman for the Democratic Party after a meeting of with party lawmakers.

It is very likely that the legislation will easily pass. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee, like former President Moon Jae-in, are known to be big animal lovers and own four dogs and three cats.

In April, the first lady called for a ban on the consumption of dog meat, which has declined significantly in recent decades due to the perception that the tradition is becoming an international embarrassment.

Dog meat has been part of Korean gastronomy for centuries, especially as the main ingredient in a soup called "bosintang," which is believed to boost virility and have beneficial effects on health and was traditionally eaten on what according to the lunar calendar are the hottest days of the year between July and August. It is also included in "gaesoju", a drink used in traditional medicine.

However, according to a survey conducted in 2020 by the International Humane Society, about 83 per cent of respondents have never consumed dog meat and do not intend to consume it in the future.

In addition, if until 2016 there were about 17,000 dog farms, supplying restaurants with the meat of two million dogs, by 2023 the number has been more than halved.

In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reported the existence of about 200 registered dog farms, but many (perhaps thousands) are unregistered.

Although various legislative proposals made by the government in recent years have been received favourably by animal protection advocate, it is precisely farmers who oppose the ban.

“I absolutely oppose these moves, and we’ll mobilize all our means to resist it,' said Kim Jong-kil, a 57-year-old farmer from the city of Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, speaking to Al Jazeera.

According to some polls, a third of the population opposes the ban on the consumption of dog meat and if no measure has been passed so far, it is because there are disputes about how to compensate farmers.

Ju Yeongbong, an official with the farmers’ association, called for farmers to be allowed to continue with their activity for another 20 years or so, so that meat consumption will die out with generational change, considering that it is mainly the elderly who still eat it, a proposal that animal rights activists have strongly opposed.

• south korea
• dog meat
• consumption
• ban
• opposition