South Korea’s parliament has endorsed legislation outlawing the country’s dog meat industry
South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday endorsed landmark legislation outlawing the country’s dwindling dog meat industry, as public calls for the ban have grown sharply amid animal rights campaigns and worries about the country’s international image.
Some angry dog farmers said they plan to file a constitutional appeal and launch rallies in protest, a suggestion that heated debate over the ban would continue.
Dog meat consumption, a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula, is neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea. Recent surveys show more people want its ban and a majority of South Koreans don’t eat dog meat any longer. But the surveys also indicated one in every three South Koreans still oppose the ban even though they don’t eat dog meat.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly passed the bill by a 208-0 vote Tuesday.
