‘Time For Dog Meat Ban’, Suggests South Korea’s President

Around 2 million dogs are raised for their meat on South Korean farms every year. Now, animal welfare groups are welcoming president Moon Jae-in’s latest comments on a potential ban for dog meat consumption.

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Credit: Jean Chung/For HSI

The South Korean president has issued a statement that signals a potential ban on the consumption of dog meat in the East Asian country. 

Figures reveal that up to 2 million dogs are raised on thousands of farms across the country every year. Many of the dogs are killed by electrocution, and are sold for soup, which is popular during South Korea’s Bok Nal season in July and August. 

The dog meat soup is believed to cool the blood during the hot summer, a belief particularly held by the older generation. 

But the younger generation, along with a significant rise in the number of pet-owners in the country, are leading the growing move against the dog meat trade.

Among those who support dogs for companionship and not food, is the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, who has several canines in the presidential quarters, including a black mongrel named Tory who Moon adopted from an animal shelter.

Now, Moon has raised the issue of the dog meat trade on a national level.

“Hasn’t the time come to prudently consider prohibiting dog meat consumption?” Moon asked the prime minister, Kim Boo-kyum, at a meeting last week, reports The Guardian. 

Campaigners are hopeful that president Moon’s discussion with the prime minister will help introduce new legislation against the trade. 

“We actively welcome President Moon Jae-in's comments instructing a review of the dog meat consumption ban and hope there would be substantial progress on that”, several animal rights organizations said in a joint statement. 

A recent opinion poll shows that nearly 84% of South Koreans say they don’t or won’t eat dog, and almost 60% support a ban on the trade, according to the Humane Society International/Korea (HSI/Korea).

Nara Kim, a dog meat campaigner for HSI/Korea, also welcomed the country’s changing attitudes towards the trade:

“As a Korean who has visited many dog meat farms and seen the appalling animal suffering first hand, I welcome these words from President Moon and hope that it signals the beginning of the end for the brutal dog meat industry”, Kim said.

Nara Kim, Campaign Manager of HSI Korea, comforts a dog at a dog meat farm rescue in South Korea last year. Credit: Jean Chung/For HSI

“These dogs live a dreadful existence, locked in barren wire cages their whole lives, most in a pitiful state of malnutrition, skin disease and fear, only to be painfully electrocuted often in front of each other. It’s like a living nightmare for them, all to produce a meat that most Koreans don’t want to eat.

“Banning dog meat would be the right thing to do not just for the dogs but also for South Korea. HSI/Korea works with dog farmers who want to get out of this dead-end trade. Our program helps them transition to more humane livelihoods, and so we urge President Moon to advance a ban but also to adopt HSI’s farmer transition program to make sure the phase out happens with the backing of farmers so that it is sustainable and permanent. Consigning the dog meat industry to the history books is within our grasp.”

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