South Korean capital defines dogs as livestock

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2008:

 

 

South Korean capital defines dogs as " livestock "

 

SEOUL--Acknowledging the existence of at least 528 Seoul

restaurants that sell dog meat, plus 70 more that may offer dog meat

as a summer special, Seoul city health officials on April 12, 2008

announced that they would begin inspecting dog carcasses.

" The city will take samples of dog meat from about 530

restaurants and examine them to see if they contain harmful

substances such as heavy metals, antibiotics, and bacteria, " wrote

Korea Times staff reporter Kim Tae-jong.

The unilateral city inspection initiative follows years of

efforts by the dog meat industry to have dogs recognized as a " meat "

animal, on the pretext that traffic in species not so recognized

cannot be regulated under the existing hygiene laws.

Selling dogs' meat for human consumption has been technically

illegal since 1983, but the law has never been enforced, and

provides no means for it to be enforced.

" The city also plans to propose that the central government

categorize dogs as livestock, " Kim Tae-jong added, recalling that a

similar proposal was introduced into the South Korean parliament in

2001, but was scrapped due to humane opposition. The South Korean

ministry of agriculture and forestry then tried to classify dogs as

livestock by administrative decree, in 2003, but was also rebuffed.

Waiting four years before trying again, the ministry of

agriculture and forestry in July 2007 proposed a new animal

protection law that contained a passage recognized by Korea Animal

Protection Society founder Sunnan Kum as a back door attempt to

legalize dog meat. Other Korean animal welfare organizations

disagreed and promoted the law as written. It took effect on January

27, 2008.

" In only two months, " said Sunnan Kum, " Seoul mayor Oh Se

Hun announced the introduction of the protocol for lawfully killing

and eating dogs. This clearly shows that the revision of animal

protection law was prepared only to show foreigners, rather than for

animal protection. "

" If you start separating dogs for consumption from pet dogs,

you will open a floodgate, " agreed Korea Kennel Federation

representative Chung Tae-gyun. " We think dogs should not be consumed

at all. "

Oh Se Hun issued the new Seoul Dog Meat Hygiene Management

Policy on March 24. KAPS and Coexistence of Animal Rights in Korea

demonstrated against the new policy for the next two days in front of

the Seoul city hall, said Pei F. Su of ACTAsia For Animals.

" For years Korean groups have worked on public education

campaigns to promote the concept that dogs are not food, " Pei F. Su

posted to the Asian Animal Protection Network newsgroup. " They are

asking for support from other Asian communities, with the hope

that countries that have already banned the consumption of dog and

cat meat, including Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines, could

help to persuade the Korean government not to legalize this animal

abuse. "

The Taiwanese animal protection group EAST supported KAPS and

CARK by protesting in Taipei on April 8, 2008, Pei F. Su said.

" Last year, the Research Institute of Public Health and

Environment conducted a study and it discovered germs, " Seoul food

safety regulator Oh Jae-ho told JoongAng Daily reporter Brian Lee.

" That is why we think that putting dog meat into the flow of

livestock monitoring is needed. We have been told that last year

during summer five to six million [dog meat] dishes were sold. Since

many people eat dog meat, we think it is better to bring the issue

into the limelight for the sake of public health. "

South Korean restaurant meat buyers currently pay about $4.00

per pound for dog carcasses, three times the wholesale price of

pork, but just a seventh the wholesale price of beef. Up to 100

dishes are prepared from each dog carcass. If all of South Korea

eats dogs at the Seoul consumption rate, and 50 dishes are made from

each dog carcass on average, about one to 1.2 million dogs per year

are eaten--about half the number estimated by the ministry of

agriculture and forestry a decade ago, and a third of the estimated

peak consumption.

The Korea Kennel Federation estimates that about 3.5 million

to 5 million dogs are kept as pets in South Korea.

While the dog meat industry is still big, dog meat dealers

Jo Chang-Geun Ko Se-Hoon in July 2007 abandoned an attempt to sell

dog meat online, they told Agence France Presse, due public

opposition. Their business was based in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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