FAQs about dog-eating in Korea

Frequently asked questions about dog-eating in Korea: Answers from CARE and KAAP(contributed by EAST).

1. What is the current Korean policy on dog meat? Do they intend to legalise dog eating under this policy?

The Korean government has wanted to legalise dog meat for many years. First it classified dogs as livestock under Article 2 of the Livestock Law – despite protests this went through. This is the current situation. However, dogs are not viewed as livestock according the Livestock Products Processing Law. It is therefore unclear if eating dogs is illegal or not in Korea.

The government has now decided that production and sale of dog meat needs to be regulated as a public health measure, as the current ambiguity has led to unhygienic and unsafe slaughter and distribution of dog meat. It therefore wants to revise the Livestock Products Processing Law to include dogs as livestock. This will result in making the sale of dog meat a legitimate activity, allowing any shop to stock canned dog, dog sausage, dog ham and similar products, and any restaurant to serve steamed dog meat, dog ribs, steamed dog legs and other items made from dogs. It is thought that this might have been the reason for the authorities to promote the legalisation of dog meat.

Seoul Muncipality’s recent move on issuing a Dog Meat Hygiene Management Policy is just another example that demonstrates the government’s intention to legalise dog eating in Korea. Public hearings will be held in May 2008 to discuss amendments to the Livestock Products Processing Law before it goes forward for parliamentary deliberations.

2. The Korean government says that the legalisation of dog meat could reduce the mistreatment of dogs. What are your views?

The proposed amendments to the Livestock Products Processing Law are intended to regulate the hygienic component of dog slaughter for food, not the humane component. This is not going to stop the abuse of dogs while they are raised and butchered for food. It may help to prevent some of the cruel activities in street markets – such as the beating of dogs in public. However, Korea’s Animal Protection Law already states that animal mistreatment shall be punished, and cruelty to dogs on the streets is currently covered under this law. If dogs are considered to be livestock, the number of dogs subjected to cruelty will increase drastically, as they will suffer from the same institutionalised abuse that cows, chickens and pigs currently face.

3. What are some of the welfare problems that you have seen on dog breeding farms?

Visits to some of the dog breeding farms in Korea revealed the following:

According to the farm owners, slaughtering dogs by electrocuting them reduces the quality of dog meat; therefore they usually hang them. Often the dogs are hanged and burnt (to remove the fur) while alive. The live dogs tend to move from pain caused by the fire and make it easier for the slaughterer to burn their fur off completely. In most cases, the frightened dogs have to watch their partners, friends and families get hanged, stabbed and burnt to death.
The dogs are fed human food waste because dry dog food is claimed to be too expensive and reduces the quality of the meat. Water is not given to the dogs. The farmers claim that the dogs that are fed actual dog food do not get purchased by the buyers because the meat quality is lower. It is important to note that none of the farmers and slaughterers recognised that not providing water to the dogs is a severe form of animal cruelty.
If the new initiative is passed and consuming dog meat becomes legal, it is easy to foresee even more brutal slaughtering acts to reduce costs and to preserve the flavour of the dog meat. Even if there is a strong initiative that prohibits animal cruelty, the slaughterhouses will only superficially appear to be complying with the law. However, because there are higher costs involved, there will be a lot more cases of underground slaughterhouses that will commit even more atrocious brutalities.

4. The Korean government says that ‘edible’ dogs and pet dogs are separate categories. Is this a fact?

Many of the dogs that are seen in cages in dog markets are so-called pet dogs. Also, many abandoned dogs are caught and taken to dog markets. Who can really legally classify a dog as an edible dog or a pet dog? An edible dog becomes a pet dog by being loved and nurtured with a good guardian and a pet dog can be an edible dog if it is abandoned or stolen.

5. Why do we have to ban dog eating?

We are concerned about the ‘factory style’ intensive farming of livestock, which is one factor for the excessive meat consumption which threatens our health, and contributes to tremendous animal cruelty and environmental destruction. Condemning another species to this institutionalised cruelty just compounds these problems.

6. Isn’t dog eating a tradition in Korea?

Traditions that are cruel and ignore ethical values force many lives into pain and repression. It should be noted that many cruel traditions are now being banned in different countries. For example, the UK has banned ‘traditional’ fox hunting, and many US states have banned cock-fighting. ‘Culture’ or ‘tradition’ should not be used as an excuse to cause animal suffering.Share