Zhang Jing, a special correspondent of this newspaper in South Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean National Assembly held a plenary session on the same day and voted to pass a bill on banning dog meat. The bill prohibits South Koreans from raising, breeding, and slaughtering dogs for food, as well as distributing and selling dogs and processed dog meat.
According to the report, the bill stipulates that slaughtering dogs for food purposes will be punished with up to 3 years in prison or 30 million won (about 16 yuan).30,000 yuan), and those who raise, breed, or distribute will be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won. The penalty clause will come into force three years after the enactment of the Act. The bill stipulates that dog breeders, slaughterhouses, retailers, restaurants and other units shall declare their facilities and business contents to the jurisdiction, and they will be closed down and helped to change their businesses.
Dog meat culture withdrew from the stage of Korean history. South Korea's "Asian Economy" 9** said that with the passage of the law banning dog meat in the National Assembly, it will be difficult to find dog meat restaurants in South Korea from 2027. The issue of banning dog meat has been debated in South Korea for many years, and the results of the "2023 National Awareness of Eating Dog Meat" survey conducted by the Korea Animal Welfare Research Institute for 2,000 people show that 945% of respondents said they had not eaten dog meat in the past year, 93Four percent of respondents said they would not want to eat dog meat in the future.
South Korea's current ** and the ruling party have been pushing for a ban on dog meat, and in November 2023, the relevant laws will be officially enacted. However, South Korea said that although the bill has been passed in the National Assembly, details such as the compensation for meat dog farms and the disposal of leftover meat dogs will continue to cause controversy.
In the future, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will be responsible for compensation. According to the standard calculation of 2 million won per dog required by the Korea Kennel Association, the maximum compensation is 4 trillion won, which is a large amount. According to the report, how to protect the meat dogs left behind after the ban on dog meat is also a problem. If more than 500,000 meat dogs are released from the farm at one time, most of them may be euthanized. ▲