What does consuming dog meat mean?
Sangkyung Lee
A debate over dog meat has been raging in South Korea for decades. Is the farming and consumption of dogs a matter of animal cruelty, cultural identity, or simply personal choice?
Image copyright of Humane Society International, used with permission: Dogs are shown locked in a cage at a dog meat farm in Ansan City, South Korea, on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. The operation is part of HSIs efforts to fight the dog meat trade throughout Asia.
Dog meat consumption in South Korea has been intensely criticised for many years by animal welfare organisations and others in western civil society concerned about animal cruelty. This resulted in a mixed response with the Korean government choosing to hide dog meat restaurants during the Seoul Olympics in 1988 in an attempt to avoid international condemnation. But years later, when hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2002, following similar international condemnation and calls for action, many South Koreans reacted by defending dog meat as part of Korean “culture” that should not be meddled with by western “imperialists” (Czajkowski, 2014).
Today, a quarter of a century after those Olympics, following decades of national campaigning, strong opposition within Korea from Korean animal protectionists and bipartisan politicians has emerged and expanded, and the issue has now become a significant one on the agenda of many politicians as they try to find a solution for both those individuals working in the dog meat industry and animal advocates trying to end it. Korean animal advocacy groups are gaining in influence as pet ownership continues to rise rapidly, further complicating the perception of the dual status and role of dogs in modern Korean society.
Image Copyright of Humane Society International, used with permission: Puppies are shown locked in a cage at a dog meat farm in Asan, South Korea, on Monday, January 16, 2023. The operation is part of HSIs efforts to fight the dog meat trade throughout Asia.
A 2023 survey by Humane Society International/Korea reveals that 86% of the population has little to no intention of consuming dog meat in the future. In addition, the vast majority (68%) believe that all dogs deserve protection; yet despite this, there is still a sizable minority not in support of a ban, with the population split into two nearly equal camps when it comes to whether or not dog meat should be banned. This raises questions about the persistent challenges surrounding this issue in Korea and prompts contemplation on the future relationship between dogs and humans in this context.
Social attitudes towards dog meat consumption
The 2023 survey shows that respondents are concerned about the welfare of dogs and the unhygienic conditions on farms, as well as the negative impact dog meat consumption could have on the nation’s international reputation. However, these concerns do not necessarily translate into broad support for a ban on dog meat production or consumption, with 43% in opposition to a ban for various reasons, including: banning dog meat consumption goes against personal liberty, dogs can be eaten like other “livestock” species, such as pigs, cows and chickens, and there are different “types” of dogs – those for companionship (“pet dogs”) vs those for consumption (“meat dogs”).
The remaining 57% who support a ban cite reasons such as concerns for the illegal, unsanitary and unethical conditions of the whole process of producing dog meat.
Image copyright of Humane Society International, used with permission: A dog is shown locked in a cage at a dog meat farm in Asan, South Korea, on Monday, January 16, 2023. The operation is part of HSIs efforts to fight the dog meat trade throughout Asia.
Even if a “dual perception” of dogs is held by some Koreans, this perception situates intensive dog meat farming, a practice unique to South Korea, as another form of appalling treatment of animals raised for human consumption. On meat farms, the dogs are trapped in small, filthy cages and forced to breed puppies to supply the industry. The raised wire cages with mesh flooring are designed to allow dog faeces to easily fall underneath the cages, denying the dogs even the basic “comfort” of a stable surface to move around and sleep on, which in turn can lead to pressure sores, pain, and feet deformity.
Dog meat involves a legal loophole
According to a government-led survey in 2022, over 520,000 dogs are raised on dog meat farms and about 388,000 dogs are slaughtered every year for human consumption. However, animal protection organisations argue the figure is likely far greater, given that government data does not include the many unregistered farms, thus potentially grossly underestimating the size of the industry and the number of animals involved.
Image copyright of Humane Society International, used with permission: First visit to HSI/Korea’s 18th dog meat farm planned closure in Asan-si, South Korea
Under the Korean Livestock Industry Act, dogs are included and designated as a “livestock” species. However, the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, which governs the slaughter and disposal of livestock and the processing, distribution and inspection of livestock products, does not recognise dogs as “livestock”. Moreover, according to the country’s Food Sanitation Act, dogs are not included in the list of raw materials that can be used in food for human consumption. Essentially, there is neither explicit recognition of dogs as food, nor a clear ban on the sale or slaughter of dogs for food.
This legal ambiguity has long caused conflicts between dog meat farmers and animal advocates. Since 2017, the government has introduced and advanced policies designed to phase out dog meat consumption such as an amendment to the Animal Protection Act prohibiting the slaughter of animals, such as dogs, not listed in the Livestock Industry Act; but these measures have yet to be successful in yielding change. Despite the effort by former President Moon, who established a committee in 2022 to reach a social consensus on a dog meat industry ban, the debate continues and all the while hundreds of thousands of dogs are being illegally slaughtered, processed and commodified every year.
Image copyright of Humane Society Internation, used with permission: First visit to HSI/Korea’s 18th dog meat farm planned closure in Asan-si, South Korea
The future of meat consumption
Consuming food is an essential part of our lives. But consumption is not just about eating what is served in restaurants. When it involves consuming animals, it also involves and invokes the story of the origin of the foods (Oliver, 2023). Considering the current lack of regulations concerning the farming and slaughter of dogs on dog meat farms, this frame of reference suggests that all types of dog meat products are unethically and illegally processed. In a sense, then the behaviour of dog meat consumers and those who are sitting on the fence makes them complicit in the survival of an illegal and unethical industry.
Image copyright of Humane Society Internation, used with permission: First visit to HSI/Korea’s 18th dog meat farm planned closure in Asan-si, South Korea
Ultimately, it is all about our choice, not whether to consume dogs legally or illegally, but about the kind of relationship we would wish to have with animals who are “not disposable, simple-minded, unfeeling objects” (Bekoff, 2023). In Korean society, one out of four people live with a pet animal, and dogs are increasingly positioned and cherished as companion animals rather than a source of food, with 75.6% of pet guardians having a dog. The breeds of dog raised and slaughtered on dog meat farms in Korea include golden retriever and Maltese, widely considered pets. This is one more sign that the numerous tensions surrounding the practice of dog meat consumption have led to a broad-scale social, cultural, and political indigestion that does not bode well for the dog meat industry.
Sangkyung Lee (slee@hsi.org)
I’m a Campaign Manager, Dog Meat at Humane Society International South Korea. I’m interested in understanding of non-human animals and our relationships with them from political and socio-cultural perspectives.
References
Bekoff, M. (2023). Peter Singer’s Classic ‘Animal Liberation’ Fully Renewed. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/202303/peter-singers-classic-animal-liberation-fully-renewed
Czajkowski, C. (2014). Dog meat trade in South Korea: A report on the current state of the trade and efforts to eliminate it. Animal L., 21, 29.
Oliver, C. (2023). ‘Vegan world-making in meat-centric society: the embodied geographies of veganism’, Social & Cultural Geography, 24(5), pp. 831-850, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2021.1975164
