South Korea to ban dog meat consumption, trade from 2027

South Korea’s parliament passed a bill on Tuesday making the slaughtering, breeding, trade and sales of dog meat for human consumption illegal

Efforts to ban the practice had faced fierce resistance from the dog meat industry, even though surveys show most Koreans don’t eat dog meat any more

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Dogs are seen in a cage at a dog farm in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, last year. Photo: AP

Published: 2:49pm, 9 Jan 2024Updated: 4:50pm, 9 Jan 2024

South Korea’s parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to end the eating and selling of dog meat starting in 2027.

The National Assembly endorsed the landmark legislation by a 208-0 vote on Tuesday. It will become law after it is endorsed by the State Council and signed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, steps considered a formality as Yoon’s government supports the ban.

The bill would make the slaughtering, breeding, trade and sales of dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027 and punish such acts with prison time.

Animal rights activists stage a rally in Seoul last year opposing South Korea’s traditional culture of eating dog meat. Photo: AP

Efforts to ban dog meat consumption have faced fierce resistance from farmers and others in the country’s dwindling dog meat industry. Recent surveys show a majority of South Koreans don’t eat dog meat any longer.

Eating dog meat was once seen as a way to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer. But it has become a rarity – now eaten mostly by some older people – as more Koreans consider dogs family pets and as criticism of how the dogs are slaughtered has grown.

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 Yoon, an animal-lover who has adopted numerous stray dogs and cats with first lady Kim Keon-hee, also a vocal critic of dog-meat consumption.