South Korean president raises prohibition of dog meat consumption

The president of South KoreaMoon Jae-in raised this Monday the possibility of banning dog meat in the country, said his cabinet, a custom that has caused embarrassment on the international scene.

For a long time, the Meat of dog It has been widely used in South Korean cuisine and, according to estimates, up to a million of these animals would be consumed in the country each year.

But as South Koreans have viewed dogs more as a companion animal than a food source, their consumption has been declining.

The practice has become taboo among the younger generations and the pressure from animalists has been accentuated.

“Hasn’t the time come to consider, wisely, the prohibition of the consumption of dog meat?”Moon told Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during their weekly meeting, according to a spokesman for the presidency.

The president made this comment during the presentation of a plan to improve the care system for abandoned animals, said the spokesman.

The domestic animals sector is booming in South Korea and more and more households have a dog, starting with the head of state.

The animal protection law in South Korea seeks, above all, to prohibit the cruel slaughter of dogs and cats, but does not prohibit their consumption.

Still, authorities have used that text and other hygiene rules to crack down on dog farms and restaurants when international events have been held in the country, such as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

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