[Moon Jae-in's official blog]
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, an animal lover who adopted a street cat and an abandoned dog to live together at his residence, is under pressure from animal rights activists to impose a complete ban on butchering dogs for table use, a controversial social issue which has caused international criticism and catcalls.
Animal protection groups have formed a coalition to launch an endless campaign until Moon accepts their demands, starting with a news conference on Sunday outside the office of the president's advisory group. "As President Moon Jae-in pledged during his campaigning, dog meat for table use must be banned," the coalition said in a statement.
Moon Jae-in and his adopted street cat. [Moon Jae-in's official blog]
Moon, who is raising an abandoned cat in his residence, has promised to adopt a mongrel dog named "Tory" which was brought to a private shelter in Seoul two years ago but failed to be adopted just because he was an unhandsome mixed breed.
Eating dogs have settled as a Korean tradition for ages, but the population of eating dog meat has dropped dramatically in recent years thanks to an active campaign by animal lovers. Dog meat lovers and restaurants claim that eating dog is nothing different from eating beef, pork, or horse meat, while activists want a complete halt to the deep-rooted practice because dogs are bred in meat farms and slaughtered in a cruel and unhygienic way.
The coalition insisted that about three million dogs have been butchered and sold to dealers and restaurants every year, urging South Korea to join a group of Asian countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand which have officially opposed dog meat sales. "Dog meat is now consumed only in three countries -- China, Vietnam and South Korea. Especially, South Korea is the only country to have dog meat farms," it said.
To-be-first dog Tory. [Courtesy of care]
The current law prohibits butchering an animal in front of other animals and requires quickest and painless methods in butchering. Dog meat farms and slaughter yards are not subject to the Sanitary Control of Livestock Products Act because dogs are not defined as livestock for consumption. dogs are kept in cages and animal lovers slammed brutal methods like electrocution and hanging to slaughter them.
Along with strict regulations on pet dog shops, the coalition called for government steps to reduce the number of abandoned pet animals which it said stands at about 100,000 every year.
Of about 60,000 abandoned dogs kept in state and private shelters in 2015, only 32 percent found new homes with 22 percent put to mercy killing. More than 8,000 dogs are abandoned every year because they are ugly and mixed breed. Or their owners were inconsiderate in adopting pets without family consent.
In an effort to reduce the number of dogs being killed in the streets or being put down at shelters, dog owners are required to implant compulsory microchips to their canine friends to help track vaccination and ownership records. Government data showed that only 979,000, or half of total dogs, were implanted with chips.
The coalition urged the government to reduce the number of animals used for experiments from 2.88 million currently to two million by 2022.
A revised law bans dogfight and contains stricter regulations and harsher legal punishment than before. To enhance hygiene and prevent ill-treatment of dogs, pet dog "factories" are required to get state licenses, but the controversial issue of selling canine meat was not mentioned.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
