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Seoul has been declared free of dog slaughterhouses following a pledge from the city’s last three dog meat shops to stop killing.
The move follows more than a year’s worth of campaigning by Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Campaigners from animal charity Humane Society International/Korea – which has been active in South Korea since 2015 working with dog meat farmers to close farms and rescue dogs – have welcomed the news.
Celebration
The news was met with a celebration with animal protection groups holding an event in the city’s Namsan Park.
“Through persuasion for many years, we stopped all slaughter in Seoul,” Mayor Park said in a statement released before the event.
“We will maintain the city as a slaughter-free place to promote the dignity of animal coexistence. If Seoul slaughter activity occurs again, we will use all means to block it.”
‘This dying industry’
“I am so happy to see Seoul’s last remaining dog meat shops end dog slaughter,” Nara Kim, dog meat campaign manager for Humane Society International/Korea said in a statement.
“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.
“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.”
