News: The special bill to end dog meat consumption passed through the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans, and Fisheries Committee in the National Assembly.(December 20, 2023)
Money Today reported on December 20, 2023: The special bill to end dog meat consumption, which bans the eating and slaughter of dogs, has passed the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee of the National Assembly on December 20, 2023. Both the ruling and opposition parties of the Korean government support this bill, so if it passes the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session, dog meat will be banned after the three-year grace period.
The National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee held a plenary meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th and decided to ban eating dogs. The special bill to end dog meat consumption is a sub-legislative alternative to the “Special bill to end dog meat consumption” proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Han Jeoung-ae in June. It is based on a ban on raising and slaughtering dogs for food. It also includes mandatory government support for other job options and livelihood measures for workers such as dog breeders, butchers, distributors, and restaurants. The bill establishes a three-year grace period for the ban on eating dogs.
Both the ruling and opposition parties decided to pass the bill to ban dog eating as a de facto party line. The People Power Party and the government had agreed to push for the enactment of a special bill to end dog meat consumption this year at a party-government consultation last month. The Democratic Party also adopted this bill as its party line at the general meeting of lawmakers in the same month.
On this day, Democratic Party lawmaker So Byeong-hoon, chairman of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans, and Fisheries Committee, said, “This bill, which has been pending for a long time, will pass the plenary session of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans, and Fisheries Committee, and after that, there will be a Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a plenary session. If a better plan is found in the process, an amendment can be made, and self-revision is possible.” He declared the passage of the bill.
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That is brilliant news! Well done to everyone – particularly the rescuers and activists – for the their untiring efforts to end this abominable, barbaric and filthy trade and for withstanding the dreadful trauma and horrors that they must have had to witness in the process.
HOWEVER – a three year grace period is not acceptable. It needs to end as soon as the rescues have been able to prepare to cope with the dogs and cats that will need rehoming. They must be consulted and the government must assist with the costs.