Anti-dog meat trading law passed in South Korea

South Korea made a new rule to stop killing and selling dogs for food by 2027.

The law wants to stop people from eating dog meat, which has been happening for hundreds of years.

People don’t like to eat dog meat as much as they used to. Young people don’t like it.

According to the law, it will be illegal to raise or kill dogs for food, and it will also be illegal to sell or distribute dog meat. People who are proven to have done wrong could be put in jail.

People who kill dogs could go to jail for three years, and those who raise dogs for meat or sell dog meat could go to jail for up to two years. However, people will still be allowed to eat dog meat.

The new law will start in three years, so farmers and restaurant owners have time to find other jobs and ways to make money. They need to give a plan to stop their businesses to their local government.

The government said they will help dog meat farmers, butchers, and restaurants that have to close. But they haven’t figured out exactly how they will help yet.

In 2023, the government said South Korea had about 1,600 places to eat dog meat and 1,150 places that breed dogs for meat.

Some older South Koreans like to eat boshintang, a stew made with dog meat. But young people don’t like to eat it anymore.

A survey by Gallup last year found that only 8% of people said they had eaten dog meat in the past year, which is a lot less than the 27% who said they had in 2015. Less than 20% of people said they liked eating the meat.

On Tuesday afternoon in Seoul, in a small street with many restaurants that serve dog meat, a few older people were eating the stew. There was a big difference between the older and younger people.

Kim Seon-ho, who is 86 years old, felt sad because of the ban. “We have been eating this since the Middle Ages. ” He asked, “Why won’t they let us eat our usual food. ” “If you stop people from eating dog, you should also stop them from eating beef. ”

Lee Chae-yeon, who is 22 years old, said that the ban is important for protecting animals. She said that many people have pets now. Dogs are part of our family and it’s not good to eat them.

Governments before, since the 1980s, promised to stop selling dog meat, but didn’t succeed. The current President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee love animals. The couple has six dogs, and Ms. Kim wants people to stop eating dogs.

Animal rights groups are happy that the ban they wanted has been approved in Tuesday’s vote.

Jung Ah Chae, who runs the Humane Society in Korea, was surprised that the ban happened while she was alive. She said she is sad for the millions of dogs that didn’t benefit from this change earlier, but she is happy that South Korea can now start to be more friendly to dogs.

People who raise dogs for meat were trying to stop the ban. They said that because fewer young people are interested in it, the tradition should be allowed to fade away on its own. Lots of old farmers and restaurant owners said it would be hard for them to change jobs at their age.

A farmer who raises dogs, Joo Yeong-bong, told the BBC that the industry is in a very bad state.

“In 10 years, the industry will be gone. ” He said that because we are in our 60s and 70s, we don’t have a choice but to lose our jobs. He also said that this is taking away our freedom to eat what we want.

A 60-year-old woman named Mrs. Kim, who owns a restaurant that serves dog meat, told the BBC that she was upset about the ban. She thinks it’s because more people in South Korea are keeping pets.

Nowadays, many young people are not getting married. Instead, they consider their pets as part of their family. However, they still understand that pets need to eat their own food. She said we should be okay with eating dog meat, as long as the dogs are raised and killed in a clean place.

She added, “China and Vietnam eat dogs, so why are we stopping people from doing it. “