The meat has long been a part of South Korean cuisine, with about one million dogs believed to be eaten annually.
But
consumption has declined as South Koreans increasingly embrace the idea
of dogs as man’s best friend rather than livestock, with the practice
now something of a taboo among younger generations and pressure from
activists mounting.
Even
so it remains a legal grey area. Despite no specific ban, authorities
have invoked hygiene regulations or animal protection laws that ban
cruel slaughter methods to crack down on dog farms and restaurants ahead
of international events such as the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Animal
rights group Care last year filed complaints against a dog farm
operator in Bucheon, accusing him of “killing animals without proper
reasons” and violating building and hygiene regulations, and prosecutors
later charged him.
He
was convicted by the Bucheon City court, which ruled that meat
consumption was not a legal reason to kill dogs, and fined three million
won ($2,700). He waived his right to appeal.
Care
lawyer Kim Kyung-eun welcomed the ruling — made in April but with
details only released this week — telling AFP: “It is very significant
in that it is the first court decision that killing dogs for dog meat is
illegal itself.”
The
precedent “paved the way for outlawing dog meat consumption entirely”,
she added, saying Care planned to file complaints against “many more”
dog farmers.
A lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party has introduced a bill to the National Assembly to ban dog meat consumption.
The
court decision sparked angry protests from dog farmers, whose premises
usually double as slaughter houses as the government does not license
abattoirs to kill dogs.
“This
is outrageous. We can’t accept the ruling that killing of dogs for dog
meat consumption amounts to killing animals on a whim,” Cho Hwan-ro, a
representative from an association of dog farms, said on YTN television.
There
are some 17,000 dog farms across the country, Cho said, calling for the
government to explicitly legalise dog meat consumption and license dog
slaughter houses. “Otherwise, we’ll fight to the end,” he added.
“Dogs
for eating and dogs as pets must be separated,” he said, adding they
were different breeds, fed differently and raised for different
purposes.
“Cows, pigs, chickens and ducks are all raised to be consumed and why not dogs?” he said.
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