A dog farm in Hwaseong, South Korea
Reuters reported on November 24 that many people in the field of dog farming and dog meat restaurants in South Korea are speaking out against the proposal to ban dog meat consumption, due to concerns about their livelihoods being affected.
Dog farmers and restaurant owners who serve the meat have staged protests in front of parliament , urging the government to cancel plans to pass a bill this year to enforce the ban.
They say banning dog meat would decimate livelihoods and limit the options available to diners, a dish traditionally consumed on the Korean peninsula to beat the summer heat, although today only eaten by some elderly people.
"If I have to close, with the current financial situation, I really don't have an answer as to what I should do. I've been doing this for 12 years and this is too sudden," said Lee Kyeong-sig, who runs a dog farm near Seoul that raises up to 1,100 dogs.
Earlier, Yu Eui-dong, head of the ruling People's Power Party's policy department, said the government and the ruling party will introduce a bill this year to officially ban the consumption of dog meat, expressing confidence that with the support of lawmakers from both sides, the bill will be passed by parliament.
Mr. Nam Sung-gue, owner of a dog meat restaurant in Hwaseong, South Korea
The information was released during a meeting with government officials and animal rights activists on November 17. South Korean Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun said at the meeting that the government will swiftly enforce the ban and provide maximum support to help those in the dog meat industry quit the business.
According to South Korean government data, the country has about 1,150 dog meat farms, 34 dog slaughterhouses, 219 distribution companies and about 1,600 restaurants serving dog meat.
Meanwhile, the Korean Dog Meat Association gave a different figure, saying that about 3,500 farms raising 1.5 million dogs and 3,000 restaurants would have to close, higher than the figure given by officials.
A poll by Gallup Korea last year found that nearly two-thirds of respondents opposed eating dog meat, with only 8% saying they had eaten dog meat in the past year, down from 27% in 2015.
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