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SEOUL: The agitating issue about dog eating and selling in South Korea concluded on Tuesday after the country's parliament passed a bill, a move that will put an end to the contentious old practice in the wake of growing support and love for animal rights. The legislation is set to come into force by 2027, the report said.
In accordance with Korean traditions, the consumption of dog meat was meant to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer.
However, the practice is now uncommon to recent generations and only embraced by some elderlies and certain restaurants as dogs are made by more Koreans as family pets and also the condemnation of how the dogs are slaughtered has increased.
Activists say most dogs are electrocuted or hanged when slaughtered for meat, though breeders and traders argue there has been progress in making the slaughtering more humane.
Support for the ban has grown under President Yoon Suk Yeol, an animal lover who owns six dogs and eight cats with First Ladyy Kim Keon Hee, also a vocal critic of dog meat consumption.
The Korean government data revealed that pet ownership has also climbed over the years. One in four Korean households owned a pet dog in 2022, up from 16% in 2010.
Proposed by the ruling party and with rare bipartisan support, the bill was passed by an overwhelming 208 votes with two abstentions in the single-chamber parliament.
The legislation, which states its purpose is "to eradicate the consumption of dogs" will take effect after a three-year grace period. The breeding and slaughtering of dogs to produce meat for human consumption will be punishable by up to three years in prison or 30 million won ($22,800) in fines. The bill does not stipulate any penalties for eating dog meat per se.
"This is history in the making," said Chae Jung-ah, executive director of Humane Society International Korea, an animal protection group. "We have reached the tipping point where most Korean citizens reject eating dogs and want to see this suffering consigned to the history books."
In a survey released on Monday by Animal Welfare Awareness, Research and Education, a Seoul-based think tank, more than 94% of respondents said they had not eaten dog meat for the past year and about 93% said they would not do so in the future.
Other polls have shown backing for the ban at around 56%.
Previous efforts to prohibit sales of dog meat failed in the face of industry protests and the bill seeks to provide compensation so that businesses can move out of the trade.
Son Won-hak, an official at the Korean Association of Edible Dogs, a coalition of breeders and sellers, said the group plans to take the matter to the country's Constitutional Court to question the law's legitimacy but did not elaborate.
But before the passing of the bill, its members laid out demands for compensation should it become law. They are seeking at least 2 million won ($1,520) per dog to compensate for losses over the next five years on top of the costs for facilities that will become defunct.
The agriculture ministry said it will consult with relevant businesses to ensure they continue to operate stably and provide "maximum support within a reasonable range".
The ministry has estimated that as of April 2022, some 1,100 farms were breeding 570,000 dogs to be served at around 1,600 restaurants.
The farmers' association said the ban will affect 3,500 farms raising 1.5 million dogs as well as 3,000 restaurants.
Source: Reuters
韓國國會通過禁止食用和銷售狗肉的法律
首爾：韓國議會通過一項法案後，韓國有關吃狗和賣狗的令人不安的問題於週二結束，隨著人們對動物福利的支持和熱愛日益增強，此舉將結束有爭議的舊做法。 報告稱，該立法將於 2027 年生效。
按照韓國的傳統，在潮濕的韓國夏季，吃狗肉可以增強體力。
然而，這種做法現在對近幾代人來說並不常見，只有一些老年人和某些餐廳才接受，因為更多的韓國人飼養狗作為家庭寵物，而且對屠宰狗的方式的譴責也有所增加。
活動人士表示，大多數狗在屠宰肉食時都會被電死或吊死，但飼養員和貿易商認為，在使屠宰變得更加人道方面已經取得了進展。
在總統尹錫烈（Yoon Suk Yeol）的領導下，對這項禁令的支持有所增加。尹石烈是一位動物愛好者，與第一夫人金建熙（Kim Keon Hee）一起養有六隻狗和八隻貓，金建熙也是對狗肉消費的直言不諱的批評者。
韓國政府的數據顯示，多年來寵物擁有量也有所增加。 到 2022 年，四分之一的韓國家庭擁有寵物狗，高於 2010 年的 16%。
該法案由執政黨提出，並得到了罕見的兩黨支持，在單院議會中以 208 票壓倒性多數、兩票棄權獲得通過。
該立法的目的是“消除狗的消費”，將在三年寬限期後生效。 飼養和屠宰狗以生產供人類食用的肉類將被處以最高三年的監禁或 3000 萬韓元（22,800 美元）的罰款。 該法案沒有規定對吃狗肉本身的任何處罰。
「這是正在創造的歷史，」動物保護組織韓國國際人道協會執行董事蔡正雅說。 “我們已經到了臨界點，大多數韓國公民拒絕吃狗肉，並希望看到這種痛苦被載入史冊。”
首爾智庫動物福利意識、研究和教育週一發布的一項調查顯示，超過94% 的受訪者表示，他們在過去一年中沒有吃過狗肉，約93% 的受訪者表示，他們今年不會吃狗肉。未來。
其他民調顯示，支持該禁令的比例約為 56%。
先前禁止銷售狗肉的努力因行業抗議而失敗，該法案尋求提供補償，以便企業能夠退出該行業。
韓國食用狗協會（一個由飼養者和銷售商組成的聯盟）的官員孫元學表示，該組織計劃將此事提交給韓國憲法法院，質疑該法律的合法性，但沒有詳細說明。
但在該法案通過之前，其成員提出瞭如果該法案成為法律則要求賠償的要求。 他們正在尋求為每隻狗提供至少 200 萬韓元（1,520 美元）的補償，以彌補未來五年的損失以及即將廢棄的設施的成本。
農業部表示，將與相關企業協商，確保其繼續穩定運營，並在合理範圍內提供最大限度的支持。
該部估計，截至 2022 年 4 月，約 1,100 個農場飼養了 57 萬隻狗，為約 1,600 家餐廳提供服務。
農民協會表示，該禁令將影響飼養 150 萬隻狗的 3,500 個農場以及 3,000 家餐廳。
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