Dog meat trade in South Korea is shrinking
People in South Korea consume dog meat and animal rights groups are not impressed about this culinary practice. For many years the international community has criticized South Korea’s culture of consuming dog meat and the inhumane treatment of animals.
In November 2018, South Korea’s largest slaughter house was closed down. Animal rights activists played a great role in shutting down the dog slaughter houses.
The number of people who keep dogs as pets has been rising in South Korea. Even the president Moon Jae-In has adopt a dog as part of fulfilling his campaign promise to adopt a dog and signaling the importance of dogs as human companions.
The adopted dog now enjoys the environs at the Presidential Blue House. This presidential act was meant to raise awareness on animal rights in the country.
This gesture has seen a change for dogs from the dinner table to the most faithful companions. Between 2005 and 2014, in Seoul, the number of restaurants with dog meat on their menu declined by 40%.
There are serious efforts at the South Korean National Assembly to ban dog meat through introduction of laws which ”exclude dogs from the livestock category.” This will ensure that it will be illegal to raise dogs for meat and it plans to ban feeding dogs on food waste. This is a common practice in many parts of the world apart form South Korea.
If the above bills gets enacted, then it means the dog meat industry will decline even further.
Research by NongHyup reveals that pet industry in South Korea has grown from $1.4 billion in 2013 to $3.4 billion in 2017 and the growth is projected to grow to $5.4 billion in 2020.
While its true that some dog farmers have insisted on raising dogs for the dinner table, there are bright prospects that soon the chances of a dog appearing on a family album will be higher than appearing on a dinner table.
This is truly a peculiar culinary tradition in South Korea.
Other countries where dog meat is a delicacy:
a) China – China has a long history of consuming dog meat
b) Nigeria- believed to improve sex life and build immunity to disease. This is Africa’s largest dog meat destination.
c) Vietnam – dog meat is common at family reunion and special occasions
d) Switzerland – Appenzell and St. Gallen districts
e) Indonesia – Dog meat is eaten during special occasions for instance weddings
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