The Ambiguous Legal Regulation Continues the 'Dog Meat' Controversy

Three dogs, each weighing nearly 60 kg, of the Tosa mix (mixed breed) were trapped in a small cage measuring one meter in all dimensions. A total of 21 dogs were suffocated by each other's weight, barely able to bark, and were only waiting to be taken to the slaughter. This was the scene at a dog slaughterhouse in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, visited by the animal protection group 'CatCatchDog' last May. When activists approached, a man who seemed to be the owner fiercely resisted for a whopping 6 hours by spraying water.

The mascot 'Catchy' (on the right) at the Four-legged Friends Shelter in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.

With the help of the police, they managed to rescue twenty dogs, excluding one whose neck was severely twisted. Are these dogs, who have dramatically saved their lives, now living comfortably in a place free from the threat of slaughter? The answer is 'no.' Dogs sent to local government shelters after rescue are euthanized if they do not find a new owner during the short adoption notice period of about ten days.

In preparation for the first day of summer (11th), I visited the CatCatchDog shelter in Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province, on the 5th. Although it can accommodate up to 50 dogs, there are already 71 dogs living there. Most of these dogs are large breeds, such as Jindo dogs, Retrievers, and Tosas. 'Meat dogs' need to be big.

Meat dogs are fed food waste for six months after birth and sent to the slaughterhouse when they exceed 50 kg. It's impossible for their bodies to grow healthily in cages covered in excrement, but they endure it by taking strong antibiotics.

The process of slaughtering these surviving dogs takes only 3 minutes. To save time, slaughterers trap dogs in cages, spray them with water, and electrocute them with electric batons. The unconscious dogs are then placed in a so-called 'rotating drum' to pluck their fur. The remaining fur is burnt off with a torch and then the dogs are cut into pieces. The dogs wait for their turn in the stench and screams of their colleagues who have died before them, unable to resist.

The process of supplying this obtained meat to restaurants is so unsanitary and cruel that even slaughterers would say, "you can't eat if you know." Yet, dogs are excluded from the Livestock Hygiene Management Act, and the Food Sanitation Act does not strictly prohibit 'dog meat for food.'

As a result, there is nothing animal protection groups can do immediately when they discover a cruel slaughterhouse. An Jong-min, the head of CatCatchDog, said, "Currently, we are accusing the owner on charges of violating laws such as the Building Act and the Agricultural Land Act and persuading voluntary demolition, but if surveillance is lax, it's common for them to build new cages and bring in new dogs."

Therefore, on the 8th, the CatCatchDog team gathered in front of Bosingak in Jongno-gu, Seoul, with 31 animal organizations and civil society organizations nationwide, shouting for the 'prohibition of meat dogs.' They also called for the passage of special laws and ordinance proposals banning dog meat. However, the Korea Meat Dog Association set up a 'dog meat tasting event' on the other side. While the government and the National Assembly are turning a blind eye to reality, as many as 388,000 dogs (based on a survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs last year) are still 'consumed' every year for food.