---

Photo: Channel A, Short story: Exposing shocking illegal dog slaughter. [숏토리] 충격적인 불법 개 도축 현장 공개, 8/16/2018.

Video: Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. jtbc News.[추적보도 훅] 철창 갇힌 채 감전사…’먹히기 위해’ 죽어가는 개들 / JTBC 뉴스룸

Video: This is the appalling reality of South Korea’s dog meat industry. 불법 개농장 참혹한 현실 [제보자들], 6/10/2020
The South Korean government is turning a blind eye to the suffering of millions of dogs in Korea. The government authorities will do nothing to enforce their own Animal Protection Law unless the illegal dog farms are reported and exposed to the public through TV media. KBS Documentary, July 10, 2020.

LCA/ALW’s 5-month Investigation into Seongnam Moran Market Exposes the Ongoing Cruelty of the Dog Meat Trade.

Video: Imprisoning dogs in raised wire cages in South Korea’s dog meat farms is extreme cruelty! 뜬장은 동물학대다!, Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE).

Video: What’s Happening in a Dog Farm in South Korea. KBS animal TV : animal4u. Jan 25, 2021.

Video: Media Triage: The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea.

Video: CARE raids an illegal dog slaughterhouse in Yeongcheon. Watch the full program, MBC TV Program 실화On, June 5, 2021.

🙏 Will you donate whatever you can to help save the dogs from this cruel trade?

Video: [Busan KAPCA] Ulsan Sangae-dong illegal dog slaughterhouse stabs and bleeds dogs to death in front of other live dogs.

KARA’s press conference held live at the multiple locations at the same time to urge relevant ministries to implement the ban on dog meat following a statement by President Moon Jae-in. 문재인 대통령 개식용 금지 검토지시에 따른 관계 부처 이행촉구 다원 생중계 기자회견

Urgent Action Alert! Forest fire in Uljin burns dogs imprisoned in dog meat farms. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE)

📢 UPDATE 1/9/2024 📢

South Korea passed a bill to end the consumption of dog meat.
“Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” was passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, and mandates a 3-year grace period for all operations to cease. 👉 Click HERE to learn more.

The Cruel Reality

South Korea has the world’s 14th largest economy and is home to global brands such as Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, LG, SK, and Daewoo. Yet this is also a country where an estimated 2.5 million dogs and thousands of cats are slaughtered and eaten each year.

Forced to endure deprivation and unimaginable torture from the moment they are born until the day they are slaughtered, dogs are imprisoned in cramped, filthy, raised cages all their lives with no protection from extreme weather. They get no water, exercise, companionship, or medical care, and they never feel the ground beneath their feet. Their eardrums are often burst to prevent them from barking.

In broad daylight, often in front of other live dogs, they are electrocuted, hanged, beaten, have their throats slashed, or are boiled or burnt to death. This profit-driven, tax-free, unregulated industry aggressively promotes the myth that eating a dog enhances male virility and stamina. Consumption peaks during the hottest days of summer (Boknal).

Koreans claim that the more a dog suffers, the better its meat is. So many dogs are sadistically made to experience extreme fear and suffering prior to death. Cats are frequently boiled alive to make health tonics, too. – “600 Stray Cats Boiled Alive,” Yonhap News, 5/21/15.

The demand is so high in South Korea that 20% of the dogs eaten there are now imported from China. South Korea is the only country known to have large, intensive farming systems to supply the demand for dog meat.

개고기 식습관은 현대에는 걸맞지 않는 폐풍이오, 국민들의 정신 건강에 아주 좋지 않은 영향을 끼치는 악습이다. 우리 사회가 고래로 정치, 경제, 종교 등의 각계각층에서 사분 오열되는 내분에 국력을 낭비하는 것은 정을 들여 키운 개를 하루 아침에 도살하여 잡아먹는 데서 오는 인간신뢰에 대한 상실로 인한 배반의 악습이 인간 상호간에도 의식적으로 무의식적으로 적용되기 때문에 파생된 당연한 결과라고 필자는 본다. 또 이 개도살에 따른 공해가 심각하다. 개를 집단으로 사육하는 과정에서 엄청난 소음이 발생하여 공중적 폐단이 매우 심각하다. 소음을 줄인다고 강제로 개의 고막을 파열시키는 잔인함까지 저지르니 개고기를 먹기 위하여 못하는 짓이 없다. 또 부분적으로는 고기의 맛을 내기 위하여 목을 매달아 놓고 개의 전신을 몽둥이로 사정없이 가격하여 내장이 파열되게 하여 잔인 무도하게 죽이는 경우까지 있으니 참으로 인간말종적 행위라고 할 수있다. – 법정스님, https://koreandogs.org/beopjeong-korean/

Dog meat consumption is an evil custom that doesn’t belong in modern society as well as a vice harmful to the mental health of our citizens. In my opinion, the fact that our society has been wasting national resources on utterly divisive internal conflicts in all walks of life, such as politics, economy, and religion, from ancient times is a natural result of the evil practice of betrayal and a loss of trust in humanity through the slaughtering and eating of dogs which is then applied in human interactions consciously and unconsciously. Additionally, the slaughter of dogs causes severe pollution. In the process of mass breeding of dogs, a lot of noise pollution occurs, and its negative effects on the public are serious. To solve that, dog farmers commit the cruelty of forcibly bursting dogs’ eardrums to reduce barking noise. There isn’t anything they won’t do to eat dog meat. Moreover, to flavor the meat, sometimes the dogs are hung by the neck then mercilessly bludgeoned all over with a club, bursting their internal organs and killing it brutally and heartlessly. We must indeed call this a diabolical behavior. – Beopjeong Buddhist Priest, a South Korean National, https://koreandogs.org/beopjeong/

The Social Costs

Besides the cruelty of the dog meat industry, many social problems occur because of dog farming and eating. Any dog can fall prey to the dog meat industry. Yellow dogs, abandoned former pets, purebreds, show dogs, unwanted puppies from puppy mills, shelter dogs, sick dogs, and even Jindos (classified as a “National Treasure” in Korea)—all of these can end up as dog meat in Korea.

Many pet owners who lose pets or whose pets are stolen suffer from knowing their pets probably had a terrible ending. Once dog meat is cooked, consumers don’t know what kind of dog they are eating. It could have been someone’s pet.

Another social problem is the misery and anger of homeowners who live near dog farms. They have to put up with the polluted waterways, stench, and noise. Homeowners have to complain to their local councils and protest about farms to get them removed because they spoil everyone’s quality of life.

Sometimes dog farms have operated right near schools where children hear the screams of dogs being slaughtered. This is no way to bring up the next generation.

Video: Dog farm in Boryeong, South Korea, where dogs are left outside in raised wire cages in freezing winter with nothing to eat except frozen rotten kimchee waste. Even the pure breed dogs are slaughtered and eaten. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE).

Threats to Health

Dogs on dog farms are pumped full of antibiotics and medicines—it is the only way to keep them alive and free from disease because of the terrible conditions they live in. However, “Consuming meat concentrated with a high level of antibiotics will cause severe toxic effects in the human body, and will cause endocrine disruption in the long term and eventually lead to cancer and diabetes.” – Dr. Tae-Yo Ha, HankookIlBo, 7/4/11. No one should feel safe eating dog meat.

South Korea also gets rid of one-third of its food waste by giving it to farmed dogs, a highly illegal practice in modern countries around the world. Imagine eating animals fed on rotting food waste infested with flies, maggots, rats, and infectious germs.

Altogether, dog farms are unsanitary, dog food waste is unsanitary, and dog slaughterhouses are unsanitary. It is all a recipe for illness and food poisoning.

Video: jtbc. Meat dogs in wire cages feed on waste sludge while they wait to be slaughtered. 쓰레기 음식 먹고 도축 기다리는…철장 속 식용견들.

No Cultural Justification

It is true dog meat-eating has been a part of Korean history, as with a number of Asian countries, but this is no excuse to continue the practice. Those who continually claim it is part of Korean tradition or culture usually do so in an attempt to stifle any Western criticism. They also try to make dog eating an issue of nationalism. However, eating dogs is not something to be proud of, and many citizens are ashamed it still happens.

A nation’s culture should be enjoyed by all and enhance a sense of identity and self-image. Culture is supposed to promote happiness and belonging. Dog eating does none of these things.

Of course, people of all ages, genders, religions, social classes, and levels of education eat dog meat in Korea. This is partly because of the way they were brought up, perhaps ignorant of the suffering they are causing. The Catholic Bishop Sung-Hyo Lee once boasted, “My favorite food is dog meat. My hobby is forcing dog meat on foreign priests. Especially the French priests.” – Kyeongin Ilbo, 5/16/11.

When social leaders say it is all right and governments do nothing, people are less likely to question the evils of the dog meat trade. But this reflects cultural backwardness.

1400 dogs starved and frozen to death in Yangpyeong! Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE)

A Legal Dilemma

UPDATE 1/9/2024: “Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” was passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, and mandates a 3-year grace period for all operations to cease. Click HERE to learn more about the Special Bill.

---

At present, dog-meat consumption in South Korea is NOT LEGAL. Yet the government and general public basically ignore its presence and allow it to continue.

Some people believe a solution to the social, environmental, and health problems of the illegal dog meat industry is to legalize it. However, legalizing dog eating will do nothing to stop the cruelty. It would only become more widespread and open. And it would be impossible to police. Dog farmers will not want extra social responsibilities, regulations, and costs, so they would likely continue to farm illegally anyway.

By simply ignoring the issues associated with the dog meat industry, the government can avoid the costs of policing it, avoid moral debate, and avoid any backlash from farmers and dog eaters. The government is able to do nothing because the majority of Koreans show a profound indifference to both the law and moral principles concerning the dog-meat industry. With an indifferent government and general public, dogs are still being brutally tortured and eaten as if it were legal.

남양주 아픈 개 (Sick dog in Namyangju), undercover video by StopIt! Korea Campaign

Other Dog Eating Countries

As countries become more modernized and culturally advanced and their generations become more educated, the dog meat industry is increasingly rejected. It is seen as an embarrassment and burden. This is why some Asian countries have already banned dog eating, recognizing it as incompatible with a modern way of life and their nations’ image.

But while the Philippines and Thailand have banned dog consumption, other countries along with Korea openly continue the practice, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

If more countries can be encouraged to ban dog and cat eating, it can influence their neighbors to ban it too. That’s why it is important to continue to pressure the Korean government to end the dog meat industry—it is not just for dogs and cats in Korea, but also for those elsewhere who are suffering in torturous conditions right now.

Join the Fight

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR KOREAN DOGS

Please send letters and make phone calls urging South Korea to stop the killing of dogs and cats for human consumption.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
2450 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008 USA
Phone: 202-939-5600
Click for Sample Letter to the South Korean Government.

Office of the President of the Republic of Korea
[04383] 22 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
South Korea

Office of the Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarter
405 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017 USA
Phone: 212-963-7160
Click for Sample Letter to the UN Secretary-General.

“Chobok” (First of 3 dog eating days of summer) – Controversy over dog meat in South Korea
Click for English Caption Transcript!

South Korea – Unbelievable Truth(Companion Animals for Consumption) 거짓말같은 진실(식용동물) (TV I Love Pet)
Click for English Caption Transcript! ‎

Campaign: Boycott Cruelty, Boycott Korea.

AS SEEN ON