PRESS RELEASE (for immediate release)

11 March 2005

Korean government makes move to legitimise dog meat trade

The Korean media, on the 9th of March, reported the Korean government’s plan to introduce hygienic management and control of dog meat trade.

According to the reports, the government, at the direction of the Prime Minister, Haechan Lee, held a ‘State Pending Problems Policy Regulation Meeting’ and decided to promote a provision for preventing the cruel slaughter of animals including dogs and strengthening hygienic management of dog meat related trade, including restaurants. According to the provision, the Ministry of Agriculture will curb the cruelty involved in the methods of the slaughter of dogs, and thereby stem the international criticism against the dog meat trade, though prohibiting slaughter methods that are punishable in the Animal Protection Law, increasing penalty for the offenders and prohibiting all animal slaughter in public places, such as an open market. In addition, the public health and environmental problems that dog meat trade has created will be dealt with through strict hygienic control of dog meat trade.

The government claims that they are not legalising dog meat, as dogs still will not be included in the list of livestock animals. However the announcement brought shock and anger to Korean animal lovers and campaigners, who interpret the provision as legalising dog meat trade, in all but name. They are determined to oppose and fight the provision and ask animal friends all around the world to join them in their efforts to force the government to abandon their plan to hygienically control dog meat trade. They believe that implementing such a policy will provide legitimacy to the dog meat trade and will create the impression that dog meat is fine to eat, thereby worsening the very cause of cruelty to dogs.

Kyenan Kum, Founder of International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA), says, “Hygiene control of dog meat makes unsustainable the very ground for the illegality of dog meat because it assumes that dog meat can be treated as food. If the Korean government is genuinely concerned about reducing cruelty to dogs or the public health and environmental problems that the inhumane trade creates, they should close down the illegal trade and educate the public about the fraudulent nature of dog meat trade. Implementing a set of regulations to hygienically control the dog meat trade while paying lip service to animal welfare concerns may appease dog eaters but will have disastrous effects on the lives of so many Korean animals.”

Ends………..

For more information, please contact

Kyenan Kum, Founder and President, International Aid for Korean Animals

Tel/Fax: (001) 510 271 6795

Email: kkum@koreananimals.org

Details about the work of Korea Animal Protection Society and International Aid for Korean Animals are available on its website: www.koreananimals.org

International Aid for Korean Animals
Korea Animal Protection Society
P.O. Box 20600, Oakland, 94620-0600, USA
www.koreananimals.org
iaka@koreananimals.org
(Tel.) 510-271-6795
(Fax) 510-451-0643