The South Korean parliament today has unanimously passed a bill to end the country’s centuries-old tradition of selling dog meat amid campaigns by animal rights groups.
It is believed that dog meat has been consumed in Korea since the Middle Ages. While previous governments have pledged to ban the practice since the 1980s, only now does the policy seem to be coming to fruition.
The bill – which passed by 208 votes to 0 in the National Assembly – would provide for a 3-year grace period, after which slaughtering dogs, breeding dogs for their meat, or selling them for human consumption would be made a criminal offence punishable by 2 to 3 years in prison. However, it offers no penalty for simply eating dog meat.
The law would also provide provisions to help dog farmers to switch to alternative career paths.
While it has not become law yet, and has yet to be approved by the Cabinet Council and signed by the South Korean president, the bill is expected to pass, as the government support the ban. Notably, President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife are known animal lovers, having six dogs themselves as pets.
However, dog farmers and others in the industry are outraged by the decision.
“We’re in our 60s and 70s, and now we have no choice but to lose our livelihoods,” dog farmer Joo Yeong-bong told BBC News, adding that the proposed law was “an infringement of people’s freedom to eat what they like.”
South Korea parliament votes to ban dog meat trade, aiming to end centuries-old practice that divides young and oldhttps://t.co/5X6OO8mRP3
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A dog meat restaurant owner in her 60s also complained to the BBC about the bill, blaming it on a rise in pet ownership in South Korea.
“Young people these days don’t get married, so they think of pets as family, but food is food. We should accept dog meat, but raise and slaughter them in a hygienic environment,” she said.
“Other countries like China and Vietnam eat dogs, so why are we banning it?”
Another 86-year-old local, Kim Seon-ho, told the BBC that if dog meat is banned, beef should be too.
“We’ve eaten this since the Middle Ages,” he said.
“Why stop us from eating our traditional food? If you ban dog meat then you should ban beef.”
According to Humane Society International Korea, up to 1 million dogs are farmed and killed each year in the country of 51.7 million people.
Dog meat dishes include Gaegogi Jeongol (dog stew made in a large pan), Gae Suyuk (boiled dog meat), Gaegogi Muchim (steamed dog meat with leeks, vegetables and spices), and more.
From a cultural perspective, dog meat is often associated with “boknal” – the hottest days of the Korean summer. During this time, it is believed that dog meat helps to maintain one’s vitality and health.
The practice may have emerged from times of war historically, when food was scarce and extreme starvation gripped the country, making meat options more limited. For example, during the Imjin War of 1592 to 1598, the Japanese invaded and pillaged the country, leading to widespread famine. The consumption of dog meat, then, may have begun as a necessity to survive, before developing into a cultural practice.
Outside of Korea, dog meat is still eaten in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Nigeria, and elsewhere.