Court rules electrocution at dog meat farms is not guilty

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 28, 2017, 18:35 Updated : September 28, 2017, 18:35

Animal lovers uphold placards opposing dog meat farms during a street rally in Seoul. [Yonhap News Photo]


Killing dogs with a high-voltage electric stick at met farms is not guilty, a South Korean appeals court said in its controversial verdict, citing the ambiguity of cruelty in animal butchering that sparked an angry protest by animal rights activists.

The court in Seoul upheld a lower court's decision that acquitted a 65-year-old dog meat farm owner identified by his surname Lee of violating the animal protection law that prohibits cruel methods in butchering animals. He was accused of putting an electric stick into the mouth of dogs for electrocution at his farm west of Seoul.

The law prohibits butchering an animal in front of other animals and requires quickest and painless methods in butchering. Dogs are bred in cages in meat farms and activists condemned cruel methods like electrocution.

The court ruled on Thursday that electrocution is not illegal as it has been adopted in other slaughterhouses. "It is hard to assess it as a cruel method which is extremely subjective and relative. Cruelty is basically contained in killing animals. So, if the scope of punishment is too broad, it may lead to unconstitutional consequences."

Animal lovers argued the court's decision proved that South Korea's animal protection law is for being just a show.

Activists insist that about three million dogs have been butchered and sold to dealers and restaurants every year. They want a complete ban on butchering dogs for table use, a controversial social issue which has caused international criticism.

Eating dogs have settled as a Korean tradition for ages, but the population of eating dog meat has dropped dramatically in recent years. Dog meat lovers and restaurants claim that eating dog is nothing different from eating beef, pork, or horse meat.

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