A dog meat farmer is pushing back against efforts to outlaw the industry in South Korea, promising to resist the restrictions an opposition lawmaker proposed in June.
Kim Jong-kil, 57, has vowed to fight any measures to shut down the dog meat farm that has sustained his family for 27 years, the Associated Press reported. “It’s more than just feeling bad. I absolutely oppose these moves, and we’ll mobilize all our means to resist it,” Kim vowed.
Kim’s farm, which boasts 7,000 dogs, is one of the largest in the country, according to the outlet. Kim runs the farm with the help of his two children, keeping the dogs in elevated cages for up to a year after they are born before selling them off for their meat, according to AP.
Dog meat consumption, a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula, is neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea, but more and more people want it prohibited. Farmers say they’re already suffering because of the negative public opinion https://t.co/6RS2tueDaj
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 31, 2023
While dog meat consumption is not explicitly banned or legalized in South Korea, it is a practice that dates back centuries. Despite its long-standing presence within the country, however, concerns over South Korea’s international image and efforts from animal rights activists have increased calls for the practice of consuming dog meat to be abolished, the outlet stated. (RELATED: Rescuers Bring 20 Dogs From China To America Before They Get Slaughtered, Eaten)
“Foreigners think South Korea is a cultural powerhouse. But the more K-culture increases its international standing, the bigger shock foreigners experience over our dog meat consumption,” said Han Jeoungae, the lawmaker who proposed banning the dog meat industry, according to AP.
Demand for dog meat has lessened over the years in South Korea, with most of the younger population avoiding it, AP noted. Yoon Chu-wol, 77, the owner of a dog meat restaurant in Seoul’s Kyungdong traditional market, told AP that only “ailing old people” come to his establishment for lunch. “I tell my elderly customers to come and eat my food more frequently before it’s banned,” he stated.
Han says that her bill will offer a support program for farmers who agree to close their farms, providing them funds not only to dismantle the farms, but to pursue vocational training or employment assistance as they undertake a new career, AP reported.