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Nami Kim and her organization, SaveKoreanDogs.org, supported the city of Jeonju and the local animal protection group in closing down a dog farm, which had been illegally occupying the Ministry of Defense’s land for the past 20 years, by assisting with the care and adoption processes of the 10 dogs rescued from the farm. They also met with the mayor of Jeonju, Kim Seong-Su, to thank him for his support and to urge him to end the dog meat industry in his city. Will Jeonju become a dog meat-free city? Nami seems to be encouraged by the meeting. She travelled 10 hours round trip to attend this meeting and said it was well worth the trip. Nami said that Jeonju is one city with a separate animal welfare unit in the city government, whereas 99% of Korean cities’ animal welfare is handled by the Animal Disease Control Department or Livestock Management Department. 
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Photo: From the left, Gina Nam, Mayor Seong-Su Kim, Nami Kim (SaveKoreanDogs.org), Mark (Gina’s husband), Dr. Chae-Woong Im of Jeonbuk National University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Commissioner Jeong-Hee Park of the Jeonbuk Environmental Protection Association. SaveKoreanDogs.org .

On the 22nd of March, the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to amend Article 4, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Enforcement Rule of the Animal Protection Act to specify ‘physical suffering.’ This will allow for a more comprehensive definition of animal cruelty and strengthen legal punishment.

The National Animal Rights Activist Union, Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, Korea Association for Animal Protection, and the organization Voice4Animals.org (hereinafter referred to as the Animal Protection Group) stated on the 21st that, “The Ministry received and accepted a request from the Animal Protection Group to specify ‘physical suffering’ without modifiers such as ‘cruel,’ ‘unnecessary,’ or ‘severe.’”

​What does this mean for the dog meat trade in South Korea?
This change in the law will not end the dog meat trade immediately, but it will bring us one step closer to ending it. That is because it will be more difficult for the dog meat industry to operate with the risk of being charged with animal abuse. This is the Korean government’s way of phasing out the dog meat trade which they very well know is not sustainable. The Korean government must educate their law enforcement agencies about the new law and train them to process animal abuse cases in accordance to the law. Without effective enforcement, the new law will not make any difference for the animals in the dog meat trade. Ending the dog meat trade will take time and we don’t want to wait too long. Therefore, we must keep the pressure on! This is our opinion.

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Photo: Seongnam Moran Dog Meat Market.