Canine abattoir shut as South Korea turns against dog meat

SOUTH KOREA’S largest dog meat slaughterhouse was being demolished yesterday following a campaign by animal rights activists.

The country consumes about a million dogs each year, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat – invariably boiled for tenderness – believed to boost energy levels.

But the custom has attracted criticism as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of keeping dogs as pets.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, the capital, housed at least six dog slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time.

It was a major source for dog meat restaurants across the country but it will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said. The last remaining vendor selling live dogs at nearby Moran Market will also be closed.

Slaughterhouse operators reportedly used the site for decades without proper authorisation and the city council was only granted permission to close it down after a lengthy legal battle.

Animal rights campaigners accused the abattoir of mistreating dogs and killing them cruelly – including electrocuting them before butchering them in the sight of other caged dogs.

Activists found electrocution equipment in the complex and a pile of dead dogs abandoned on the floor when they visited the site yesterday, according to Humane Society International, the US animal rights group.

“This is a historic moment,” Korean animal rights advocates said in a blog post. “It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.” According to a survey last year, 70 per cent of South Koreans do not eat dogs and it is seen as something of a taboo among the younger generation.

But far fewer – about 40 per cent – believe the practice should be banned. The poll also found 65 per cent support raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.

There are no laws on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat in South Korea.

While farmers have urged Seoul to include dogs under livestock welfare regulations, animal rights groups are opposed to the move as they want outright abolition.