The Last Dog-Meat Slaughterhouse In Seoul, South Korea Has Shut Down

There is good news coming out of Seoul. The killing and consuming of dogs is going to be illegal following three dog meat shops that have shut down in the capital of South Korea, ending their dog meat trade.

The Human Society International is the nonprofit organization that has been tirelessly working to end the trade of dog meat in South Korea since 2015, and has been nonstop lobbying the Seoul Metropolitan Government in order to make the capital city slaughter-free.

There are less and less contemporary South Koreans who still consume dog meat, with a recent Gallup poll showing figures that 70% of the South Koreans surveyed saying that they wouldn’t eat dog meat.

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The dog meat campaign manager for the Human Society International, Nara Kim, has commented on the new legislation saying, “I am so happy to see Seoul’s last remaining dog meat shops end dog slaughter. Although these shops can still sell dog meat, it is nonetheless wonderful to see South Korea take one step further away from this dying industry that most Koreans want nothing to do with.”

Kim then added, “It gives me hope that South Korea’s future is dog meat-free. HSI/Korea will continue working with the government, and supporting farmers who no longer want to work in the dog meat trade so that one day we will be able to celebrate the closure of South Korea’s final dog slaughterhouse.”

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Unfortunately, there are many other dogs who are still at risk. The Human Society International estimates that there are around 30 million dogs slaughtered every year for human consumption across Asia – with the figures showing 10-20 million dogs being killed in China, 2 million in South Korea, 1 million in Indonesia, and around 5 million in Vietnam.

The dog meat trade is not only inhumane, but it’s also linked to the spread of disease, with such outbreaks like trichinellosis, cholera, and rabies believed to caused by eating dog meat in other parts of the world.

But hopefully with South Korea being slaughter-free now, the other countries in Asia who still practice the slaughter will start to follow suite. Dogs are friends, not food.