South Korea’s lawmakers on Tuesday outlawed the breeding, slaughter and sale of canine for human consumption, a centuries-old follow that’s unpopular and uncommon at present.
Canine meat was as soon as extra frequent, and remained so within the a long time after the Korean Battle when the nation was destitute and meat was scarce. It’s utilized in a well known dish that Koreans name “bosintang,” or “soup good in your physique.” However the follow turned more and more shunned as incomes, pet possession and concern for animal welfare rose steadily within the late twentieth century.
Immediately, many South Koreans, particularly youthful folks, see consuming canine meat as appalling. About 93 p.c of South Korean adults mentioned that they had no intention of consuming canine meat sooner or later, and 82 p.c mentioned they supported a ban, based on a survey carried out final yr by Conscious, an animal welfare group in Seoul.
“That is historical past within the making I by no means thought I’d see in my lifetime,” Chae Jung-ah, the director of Humane Society Worldwide Korea, mentioned in a press release by the group. She added, “We reached a tipping level the place most Korean residents reject consuming canine.”
With the ban’s passage, South Korea joined a listing of different locations which have prohibited the buying and selling of canine meat, together with Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, the group mentioned. Thousands and thousands of canine are nonetheless killed annually for his or her meat in locations like Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, based on 4 Paws, an animal welfare group in Austria.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s cupboard is predicted to formally put the ban into impact. Mr. Yoon and Kim Keon Hee, the primary woman, who personal quite a few pet canine and cats, have campaigned for the ban. The president managed to succeed after earlier governments had failed to collect sufficient assist to finish the follow.
Underneath the legislation, which has handed the Nationwide Meeting with broad assist, an individual who butchers canine for human consumption might face three years in jail or a nice of 30 million South Korean received, or about $23,000, after a three-year grace interval. The breeding and promoting of the animals might could be punishable by two years in jail or a nice of 20 million received.
The legislation may also supply monetary incentives for canine farmers and house owners of eating places that serve canine meat to change jobs, requiring every to submit a phaseout plan to an area authorities.
In 2022, about 520,000 canine have been being raised for human consumption at 1,150 farms, and about 1,600 eating places have been promoting canine meat nationwide, based on lawmakers — significantly decrease than in years previous.
An affiliation of canine farmers protested the invoice within the months earlier than it handed, arguing that consuming canine meat was a matter of particular person selection, and demanding extra compensation for farmers who would lose their companies because of a ban.
The legislation’s passage marked a milestone for animal safety activists who’ve campaigned for the ban for years. Since 2015, they’ve helped 18 canine farmers shut their operations or transition into vegetable farms. The farmers gave up their animals to be adopted as pets.
