The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) decided Friday to seek special legislation within this year to put an end to dog meat consumption, Yonhap News Agency reports citing Yu Eui-dong, PPP’s chief policy maker.
The envisioned bill aims to ban the acts of butchering, distributing and selling of dog meat, and seeks to crack down on such acts starting in 2027 after a three-year grace period, according to the PPP's chief policy maker.
"It is time our society put an end to the consumption of dog meat, considering the growing pet population, heightened awareness and our country's international presence," Yu said after a meeting with the government on the issue.
"We will push for a special bill within this year to end dog meat consumption," he said.
The government also plans to motivate those in the industry to transition to different jobs or close their businesses, by offering financial incentives, Yu said. The support measures, however, will only be limited to those who report to the local government and submit an implementation plan.
According to government statistics, there are around 1,150 dog farms, 34 butchering businesses, 219 distributors and approximately 1,600 restaurants that sell food made with dog meat.
In addition to the bill, the PPP plans to fix the Livestock Industry Act and make sure dogs are not categorized under "livestock," the lawmaker also said.
Meanwhile, the meeting also touched on measures to improve the country's medical system for pets.
The two sides agreed to increase transparency of information on medical services available for pets, and improve medical systems for animals, such as pet insurance and the remote medical treatment system.
On the same day, a group of people working in the dog meat industry staged a demonstration in front of the parliament, strongly criticizing the push from the government and lawmakers as a threat to their livelihood.
"Starting from today, we will fight till the very end. We will risk our own lives to fight until the end for our survival, our family and our future," one of the participants said.
