Aftermath of banning dog meat in Korea

    The culture of eating dog meat has been present throughout numerous parts of South Korea for decades. This uncommon culture brings controversial opinions from South Korean citizens and internationally. While some may support the consumption of dog meat, many others have not even tried consuming a single bit. Indeed, in Korea, about 93 percent of citizens surveyed show that they have no intention of eating dog meat in the future, and 83 percent support the total ban on selling dog meat. In fact, the government of Korea recently passed a law that banned all selling dog meat: starting from 2027, when one is caught selling dog meat, they will be sentenced to a maximum of 3 years in prison. This significant change in the nation has undoubtedly affected the overall industry and business. 

    As of 2024, there are about 1600 shops that sell dog meat and around 1150 farms provide these dogs for sale. Because they are now legally not allowed to continue in this particular industry, many restaurant owners and farm owners started making changes; some are switching to other types of meat, and farm owners are doing likewise. Nevertheless, the Korea Dog Breeding Farming Cooperation demands about $1500 for each dog by government-provided support to change their industry, which  would accumulate to approximately $1 billion. This not only impacts the dog meat business for local restaurants but influences Korea's global trade with other nations. For example,  according to KATI, imports of dog meat from countries like China and Thailand will be banned with the new law from now on. 

   The culture of eating dogs is being considered as very controversial due to ethical reasons in killing an animal that is understood as one of the most fed pets. With the new law that has been implemented to annihilate dog meat consumption, businesses such as the farm industry and local restaurants have been critically impacted. The banning of selling dog meat may seem just for animal rights reasons, but the economical impact should also be considered.