South Korea: protesters raise their voice against dog meat consumption

SEOUL – Hundreds of protesters organized a rally for and against dog meat consumption near the Sejong Performing Arts Center in Gwanghwamun Sunday before Chobok, a day when Koreans traditionally eat food d & # 39; endurance. eat hot bowls of soups meant to stimulate endurance during the three days 'bok' of summer. The days are called chobok, jungbok and malbok and fall respectively on July 17, July 27 and August 16

Some of these soups involve mundane meats like chicken, but others contain dog meat

. The Korean Association for Animal Welfare, the Korean organization for the protection of cats and other animal rights groups called for the ban on the slaughter of dogs and other animals. cats, considering that the current law on the protection of animals is not strict enough. in a press release, there are about 15,000 dog farms in the country and about 2 million dogs were slaughtered each year.

In front of Donghwa Duty Free near the Sejong Center, owners of canine farms and slaughterhouses protested for the protection of their livelihoods. stating that information on dog farms issued by animal rights groups was not accurate.

An online petition asking the government to pass the bill for the revision of the Animals Act. The ion bill proposed by Pyo Chang-won, a Democratic Party deputy, had collected 178,000 signatures on the Cheong Wa Dae site Monday at noon

Pyo targets practical measures to prevent animal abuse remains an area gray in Korean law without specific prohibition that still leaves room for the slaughter of undeclared animals.

The controversy over dog meat consumption has increased, as a Korean court ruled in April that electrocution of a dog for drinking purposes violated the animal welfare law. The case was brought by the Animal Care Group against a dog breeder in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. The owner was fined 3 million won ($ 2,700).

In a survey conducted by Realmeter on June 25, about 51.5% of people declared themselves against the ban on dog meat and 39.7% against the ban. The remaining 8.8% did not have any opinion on the subject

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