Gimje’s response to our petition on e-People
Below is Gimje’s response to our petition: Gimje, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets.
Translation of Gimje Government’s Response:
With regard to potential violations of the Food Sanitation Act, during the training and inspection of premises and businesses, we will focus on investigating and verifying such violations and will prosecute those who violate any of the applicable laws for the sale of food.
However, the dog meat trade issue is fundamentally controversial, and therefore, cultural, ethical, and legal review and consensus within legislation and government policy is necessary.
Response from the Gimje’s Environment Department:
In accordance with Article 46 of the Waste Control Act, it is permissible to recycle food waste as animal feed by appropriate recycling facilities.
Response from the Gimje’s Livestock Industry Promotion Department:
In accordance with Article 2 (Definition) of Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, dogs are not included under the definition or interpretation of “livestock”, therefore they are not subjected to the article 2 of the same law which regulates the slaughter of livestock. In addition, we would like to state that we do not slaughter dogs at the slaughterhouses in Gimje. Together with the Slaughterhouse department in Jeollabuk-do Provincial Government, we will jointly inspect the slaughterhouses to prevent this from happening.
With specific regard to violations of Article 8 (Prohibition of animal abuse, etc.) section 1 clause 1, clause 4, the Animal Protection Act Article 46 (Penalty) Section 1 clause 1 (A person who has abused an animal in violation of Article 8 subsections (1) through (3)), such violation shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for up to two years or by a fine of up to 20 million won. We will do our best to prevent this from happening.
Gimje’s government is helping the dog meat industry by justifying the industry using inaccurate interpretations or neglect of the existing laws. There are 7 dog meat restaurants within the city of Gimje (there could be more) and countless so called “Health Food Shops” which commonly sell dog/cat products, claiming that the slaughterhouses in Gimje do not slaughter dogs and that any claim to the contrary would require evidence to be credible.
Regarding the claim that the feeding of food waste to the dogs is legal, citing Article 46 of Waste Control Act, we want to know whether or not the dog farmers in Gimje, both large and small, who actively do recycle food waste as feed for dogs, are actually registered to process food waste in this way, and whether or not they are complying with the relevant and applicable laws. Further we would like to know what actions (in terms of monitoring registrations, carrying out inspections and enforcement) the government is taking in relation to dog meat farmers engaged in this activity. What evidence can the government provide in relation to the above? We also note that we did not receive a response in relation to the violation we have pointed out and as referenced below:
“Unauthorized processing of food waste fed to dogs in the meat trade violates the Wastes Control Act, Article 15-2, Article 25, Section 3. Suppliers of food waste and transporters of food waste to dog meat farms are violating this regulation. Food waste fed to dogs in the dog meat trade violates the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Sections 1 & 2. The unauthorized collection of food waste and feeding it to dogs in the meat trade violates this regulation.”
Our campaign is still effective because now they are aware that the eyes of the world are watching what’s going on in their county’s dog meat industry. Let’s keep up the pressure by taking action!
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Please stop this horrific practice!