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Dog-meat Consumption is NOT LEGAL in South Korea! However, the majority of Koreans show a profound indifference to both the law and any moral principles by doing nothing at all to stop the dog-meat trade: dogs are being brutally tortured and eaten as if it were completely legal.

KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates) has published information booklets explaining the laws involving dog meat consumption. This booklet summarized the major disparities between the current law on farming dogs for the meat trade – to sell and slaughter for human consumption and what is currently practiced in South Korea. You can download the copy of this booklet from their website by clicking HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page and click “법규안내집 다운받기” blue button.

You can also download this from our page by clicking HERE.

From now on, when the Korean government gives you a lame response that they “don’t have the laws to stop eating dogs,” then send them a copy of this booklet or the KARA’s page online.

Below is a full translation of their page: https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537

Case 2 “There is a restaurant in our village that hung a placard advertising Boshintang on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Today there’s a white dog tied up under that placard. Please rescue him.”

Case 3 “There’s a slaughterhouse across the street where dogs are slaughtered. They are unloaded from the truck and dragged inside, and then there’s a period of continuous screaming, and then streams of blood flow into the drain. And the day’s work must be done because then there’s silence. These images float around inside my head and torment me. It’s hard to live like this. Please help.”

Case 4 “On the side of a farm waterway, there are signs saying ‘We sell dog meat,’ ‘We buy and sell dog,’ with the contact information. As I walk past these signs, it’s agonizing seeing them because of the screams of the dogs nearby.”

Grave of Korean companion animals – Legal Information Booklet for the ending of dog meat consumption is published.

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Published by: Korea Animal Rights Advocates
Written by: Jeon Jin-Kyung, Kim Hyun-Ji
Legal advice: Seo Guk-Hwa

Dog meat consumption is clearly illegal. It has been argued that it is impossible to determine if dog meat consumption is legal or illegal because Korean law has not passed legislation specifying whether the consumption of dog meat is permitted or not. However, dog meat farms and the slaughter and distribution of dog meat violate our current laws in many areas.

Even though ‘Banning of Dog Meat Consumption’ is not specifically stipulated in the law, the acts that are committed in the process of slaughtering dogs for consumption are clearly illegal, and therefore dog meat consumption can never be legal.

In order for the dog meat to end up on the table 6 existing laws are violated!!

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1) Violation of Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act
2) Violation of Animal Protection Act
3) Violation of Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act
4) Violation of Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases
5) Violation of Waste Control Act
6) Violation of Food Sanitation Act

So even if we only consider existing Korean laws, dog meat consumption is already illegal.

However, despite the stages of dog meat consumption – from breeding to slaughter to processing the carcass to the sale of the dog meat soup – in which many laws overlap and are cumulatively violated, the reality is that these illegal acts are neither controlled nor punished.

The administrative government, judicial government, and police all argue that “There are no laws to control dog meat consumption, the resulting animal cruelty, or the many problems that are created and witnessed as a result of the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dog meat soup.”

It is preposterous that even though dogs are subjected to horrendous breeding practices and slaughter, all laws become invalid, and protection is out of reach for the dogs because of the excuse that they are raised as food.

Introducing the legal information that will become the guidepost to coming one step closer to ending dog meat consumption.

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Is the argument that there are no laws to stop dog meat consumption and the resulting animal cruelty valid?

Could it be that dog meat consumption became normal due to complacency and a misinterpretation of the law or neglect of duty even though there are laws against it?

Could it be that the government’s outrageously irresponsible attitude, refusing to address the dog meat problem by thinking the issue of dog meat consumption eventually would end over time, brought about the lack of interpretation and enforcement of laws?

KARA’s ‘Legal Information Booklet for the ending of dog meat consumption’ was published to answer these questions.

Legal Information Table of Contents

• Violation of Animal Protection Act
• According to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, it is not allowed to slaughter dogs and distribute as meat
• Violation of Food Sanitation Act
• Misuse of laws on Livestock Waste Control and Use
• Through the ‘Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases’, total collapse of epidemics prevention and imposing danger
• Violation of Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act/Waste Control Act and the maximization of operating profit

Our Plans for the use and distribution of the Legal Information Booklet for the ending of dog meat consumption

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Using these guidelines, KARA will ask the Korean government, administrative agencies, police, prosecutors, and Judicial agencies who aren’t taking any legal action against all the illegal activity and animal cruelty relating to the dog meat trade if they are doing their best.

KARA also wants to provide legal knowledge to all those with a forward-looking attitude who want to find solutions to the dog meat trade problem and provide them with an opportunity to gain insight from others to begin a serious full-scale discussion on ending the dog meat trade.

This information booklet will be distributed to politicians, government personnel, frontline administrators, police, veterinarian associations, relevant professional groups, and Judicial authorities. It will also be provided in PDF file for everyone to download and read at their convenience.

Only with your help we can end the dog meat trade.

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The animal abandonment problem is serious. Unlike in the past, however, many people in our society are interested and concerned about this issue and are requesting breeding regulations to resolve the fundamental problem. This is a significant relief and a great step forward.

But unlike other nations, our nation is still faced with problems related to dog meat consumption. Compared to the hundreds of thousands of animals abandoned annually, dogs that are victims of the dog meat industry count in the millions each year. Many stray dogs end up as fatalities in the dog meat trade. The dog meat trade is a graveyard for our companion animals. If we can’t resolve this issue, we can’t expect any advancement in the companion animal culture.

You must empathize with this reality and understand that the only way to resolve the dog meat problem is by banning and ending the dog meat trade.

It’s time to raise our voices and demand an end to the dog meat trade, stricter enforcement of existing laws, and legislation of new laws banning the dog meat trade.

• Please read the legal information booklet provided in PDF file and share and distribute wherever you can.
• Please learn the contents of our legal information booklet and persuade people around you about the problems of dog meat trade.
• If you witness illegal dog farm or animal cruelty occurring at a dog farm, please report it to the police and administrative authorities with our information booklet.

Below is summary of violation of existing laws by the dog meat industry in South Korea:

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A summary of the major disparity between the current law on farming dogs for the meat trade – to sale and slaughter for human consumption and what is currently practiced in S. Korea.

Click HERE for the narrative format of the below summary.

Source:KARA. A summary of the major disparity between the current law on farming dogs for the meat trade – to sale and slaughter for human consumption and what is currently practiced in S. Korea.

개의 사육, 도살, 지육 및 보신탕 판매까지 중복누적되는 위법행위 일람표

Source:KARA. 개의 사육, 도살, 지육 및 보신탕 판매까지 중복누적되는 위법행위 일람표