South Korea has shut down its largest dog meat slaughterhouse where animals were electrocuted in a ‘landmark moment’ for campaigners.
The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major provider for dog meat restaurants across the country.
It will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.
Dogs were electrocuted before being butchered in the sight of other caged animals at the complex, US campaign group Humane Society International (HSI) said.
Activists found electrocution equipment, a pile of dead dogs, blood-stained knives and a ‘de-hairing machine’ when they visited the site on Thursday.
South Korea has shut down its largest dog meat slaughterhouse where animals were electrocuted in a ‘landmark moment’ for campaigners. Pictures show some of the cages where animals were kept
The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major provider for dog meat restaurants across the country. Animals were butchered before being place in de-hairing machines (pictured)
Activists found electrocution equipment, a pile of dead dogs and blood-stained knives (pictured) when they visited the site on Thursday
Piles of dead dogs were found on the ground in the Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul
HSI campaigner Nara Kim said from the scene: ‘Both as a Korean citizen and an animal campaigner, it was incredibly moving for me to a part of the historic closure of this notorious dog slaughterhouse.
‘I shudder to think how many millions of beautiful dogs will have met their horrific fate at this place over the years. It was a stain on the city of Seongnam and we are so pleased to see it bulldozed.
‘This really feels like a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and sends the clear message that the dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society.’
‘This is a historic moment,’ Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a blog post.
US animal rights group Humane Society International say dogs were electrocuted before being butchered in the sight of other caged dogs
Activists found a large number of empty wire pens that would once have held hundreds of dogs
Campaigners have hailed the closure as ‘a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry’
‘It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.’
About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat – invariably boiled for tenderness – believed to increase energy.
But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans.
About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat – invariably boiled for tenderness – believed to increase energy
But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans
According to a survey last year 70 percent of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer – about 40 per cent – believe the practice should be banned
According to a survey last year 70 percent of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer – about 40 per cent – believe the practice should be banned.
It also found 65 percent support raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.
There are currently 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 oppose doing so, seeking complete abolition instead.