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The South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs published a statement on 11/25/2021 regarding the South Korean Government launching a consultative discussion organization on dog meat consumption.

This is the result of decades of campaigns by multiple activists and organizations in South Korea and other countries. However, a closer look at the plan reveals the South Korean government’s shameful disregard for their responsibility to end dog meat consumption by delegating critical negotiations to the dog farmers, dog butchers, and the animal rights groups in Korea to reach an agreement on their own. They want this group they call the “Consultative Social Discussion Organization” to agree on the amount of compensation to the dog farmers and butchers before shutting down the dog meat industry. This is an unacceptable approach; the government should provide a roadmap to ending dog meat consumption. The Korean government should decide whether to compensate the dog meat industry workers and, if necessary, how much they should receive. Otherwise, the discussion and negotiation process could potentially drag on for years while the animals will continue to suffer. This process is actually counterproductive: while this “social discussion” takes place, even the dog farmers, butchers, and restaurant owners who were previously considering closing their businesses will now continue to operate in the hopes of receiving compensation in the future.

Other Asian countries, such as Taiwan, have banned dog meat consumption through their government’s decisive leadership and action. The South Korean government’s unwillingness to take leadership shows a continuation of profound indifference to the unimaginable suffering of millions of sentient animals who see humans as companions and guardians, as well as a lack of genuine commitment to bringing an end to the dog meat cruelty.

👉 Click HERE to read Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA)’s response to the Korean government’s action.

👉 Click HERE to read Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE)’s response to the Korean government’s action.

Related news articles:

👉 Gov’t to launch consultative body on dog meat consumption, The Korea Times, 11/25/2021.
👉 Yoon draws controversy with remarks on dog meat, The Korea Times, 11/1/2021.

Below is a translation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs statement on 11/25/2021 regarding the South Korean Government launching a consultative discussion organization on dog meat consumption.

Government to launch an organization to discuss, in collaboration with related ministries, bringing an end to dog meat consumption

□ On November 25, the government held a ‘National Issues Inspection and Coordination Meeting’ presided over by the Prime Minister, during which they discussed the “Direction for promoting social discussions on the official ending of dog meat consumption.”

• The related ministries will conduct detailed surveys on the dog meat industry, which will form the basis for extensive discussions by the “consultative social discussion organization”(collaborative organization) to take place through April of 2022.

• An inter-governmental council composed of the head of the Office of Government Policy Coordination and the Vice Ministers of related ministries agreed to develop specific plans to manifest the results of the discussions conducted by this collaborative organization.

□ This collaborative organization, which has been tentatively named the Committee For Discussing Dog Meat Issues, will consist of approximately 20 people, to include related groups, experts, NGOs, and government officials.

• Officially set to launch in December, the organization will hold discussions through April 2022 on proper communication with the public, procedures, and methods on ending dog meat consumption.

□ The government council that will support this collaborative organization will be presided over by the Chief of the Government Policy Coordination Office and the Vice Ministers of 6 ministries – the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; the Ministry of Environment; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the Ministry of Public Administration and Security; and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The government council will develop specific implementation plans for the discussion results.

• Task forces will be formed within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Roles of Ministries

GOVERNMENT		ROLE
Office of Government Policy Coordination Prime Minister’s Secretariat		ㅇ Support for the operation of social discussion organizations and government support councils
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs		ㅇ The role of general manager and secretary of social discussion organizations and government support councils ㅇ Investigation of actual conditions of dog breeding farms, etc., overseeing support review, and acting as a secretary ㅇ Review of related system improvement measures and inspection of illegal activities
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety		ㅇ Investigation of restaurants and retailers and review of support ㅇ Review of related system improvement measures and inspection of illegal activities
Ministry of Environment		ㅇ Support for surveys on dog breeding farms ㅇ Review of related system improvement measures and inspection of illegal activities
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism		ㅇ Communication with the public during the process of discussing banning dog meat consumption in South Korea
Ministry of the Interior and Safety		ㅇ Encourage local governments (relevant departments such as livestock, sanitation, environment, etc.) to cooperate with fact-finding investigations
Ministry of Economy and Finance		ㅇ Consultation on budget, etc. related to the implementation plan

□ Surveys to collect primary data related to dog meat consumption will be conducted for discussion by the consultative social discussion organization. The government will implement the resulting agreement from the social discussion organization.

• An investigational survey of breeding farms will be conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Environment. A survey of slaughterhouses is to be conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Drug Safety; and a survey of the dog meat merchants and restaurants will be conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

  The breeding, slaughter, distribution, and sales of dogs have become standard practice due to institutional and legal blind spots. It is therefore vital to fully understand the actual situation in order to appropriately promote policies to end the practice of dog meat consumption, such as the preparation of plans to improve the system.

• In addition to all the fact-finding surveys, a public opinion survey on dog meat consumption will also be conducted.

□ Government officials stated, “There are those who have a negative opinion about eating dogs as well as those who have a negative opinion about prohibiting dog meat consumption by law. Therefore, I think the consumption of dog meat is an issue in which people’s awareness of basic rights and animal welfare is intricately intertwined… I am hopeful that the consultative social discussion organization will discuss this issue sufficiently and decide on a wise future direction.”

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: https://bit.ly/3p59ITa