South Korea: Government passes law banning dog meat trade - signalling an end to the controversial industry

South Korea’s parliament has endorsed a historic legislation outlawing the country’s controversial - and dwindling - dog meat industry.

Public calls for the ban have grown sharply amid animal rights campaigns and worries about the country’s international image. But the Associated Press reports that some dog farmers say they plan to file a constitutional appeal and launch rallies in protest over the ban, which effectively spells an end to their industry.

Dog meat consumption, a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula, is neither explicitly banned nor legalised in South Korea. The exact size of South Korea’s dog meat industry is unknown, although both activists and farmers have said that hundreds of thousands of dogs are slaughtered for meat each year in South Korea. Government data suggests there may be as many as 1,150 breeding farms, 34 slaughterhouses, 219 distributions companies, and 1,600 restaurants affected.

The practice has long been criticised in the Western world, although some pundits have slammed this as hypocrisy or xenophobia - with western countries frequently raising other animals like pigs or chickens for meat, in sometimes substandard conditions. Recent surveys have shown greater support for the ban in the country, with the majority of South Koreans no longer eating dog. Despite this, they also indicated one in every three South Koreans still opposed the ban even though they did not eat dog meat personally.

On Tuesday (9 January), the National Assembly passed the Bill by a 208-0 vote. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government supports the ban, so the subsequent steps to make it law are considered a formality, AP reports. “This law is aimed at contributing to realising the values of animal rights, which pursue respect for life and a harmonious co-existence between humans and animals,” the legislation reads.

The bill will make the slaughtering, breeding, trade and sales of dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027 and punish such acts with two to three years in prison. It did not, however, lay out any penalties for eating dog meat.

It would also offer support to farmers and others in the industry to shut down their businesses or shift to alternatives - but details on how they will go about outlawing the industry are still to be worked out between government officials, farmers, experts and animal rights activists, the bill says.

The Humane Society International has called the legislation’s passage “history in the making”. “I never thought I would see in my lifetime a ban on the cruel dog meat industry in South Korea, but this historic win for animals is testament to the passion and determination of our animal protection movement,” said Jung Ah Chae, executive director of HSI’s Korea office.

However, the legislation has left farmers upset and frustrated. “This is a clear state violence as they’re infringing upon freedom of occupational option. We can’t just sit idly,” said Son Won Hak, a farmer and leader of a farmers’ association. Mr Son said dog farmers will file a petition to the constitutional court and launch rallies in protest, with a meeting planned on Wednesday to discuss other future steps.