THE SouTH KoREAn DoG mEAT TRADE - Animal Welfare Institute

Dog meat farms are scattered throughout the countryside,and the industry is estimated to be worth US$2 billion.The farms primarily raise a type of large, yellow, mixedbreeddog common in the region. The “farmed” yellowmixed-breed dogs are not the only dogs eaten, however—despite claims by some supporters of the industry.Abandoned pets are a common phenomenon in SouthKorea, and small, purebred dogs fall victim to the dogmeat trade, as well, after they are unceremoniouslydumped into the streets by owners who have growntired of them. Such abandoned dogs are picked up by acollector, stuffed into tiny wire cages filled to capacity withother such dogs, and taken to Moran market—the largestdog meat market in the nation—and other smaller marketsaround the country to be slaughtered.Legal StatusSouth Korean law is ambiguous on the legality of the dogmeat trade and official efforts to reign in the trade havebeen half-hearted at best. One legal analyst concludedthat “Despite the significance of the industry, there isno clear law governing the trade of dog meat. There isneither explicit recognition of dog meat as legitimatefood, nor a clear ban on the sale or slaughter of dogs forfood.” According to the South Korean non-profit, KoreaAnimal Rights Advocates (KARA), “It is technically illegal toprocess dogs like livestock and use dog meat as any kindof food product. However, it is not illegal to breed, or raise,or slaughter dogs for dog meat.”South Korea’s Animal Protection Act of 2007 expresslyprohibits some of the cruel methods used by people inthe dog meat trade to handle and slaughter dogs. Thelaw, however, is widely ignored, despite being revisedwith stronger penalties. With no substantive enforcementaction to curb the sale of dog meat, it is available inrestaurants throughout the country. In the late 1990s,a government survey estimated that well over 20,000restaurants—counting those that were unregistered—offered dog meat. A similar number of such restaurantsare believed to be in operation today.