What to do with half a million dogs that can no longer eat

It happened in January 2024. In a society that changes to the vertiginous rhythm, the youth of South Korea had long been reluctant to a menu that was part of the culture of the nation for centuries: the Dog meat. Then there was a change of legislation, the “Menu with dogs” was prohibited, pursuing the practice With three years in jail.

The problem is now numerical: what to do with half a million dogs.

Force extinction. I told it in an extensive BBC report. The national prohibition of the consumption of dog meat in South Korea, approved in 2024 and whose implementation will culminate in February 2027, has plunged thousands of farmers in uncertainty and despair. During generations, the breeding of meat dogs was a source of legitimate income and, for some, even honorable.

The historical decision of South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat in 2024 marked a point of cultural inflection after centuries of tradition culinary that included dishes such as The Bosintanga soup appreciated for its supposed vigorizing properties.

Half a million. Today, however, figures such as Reverend Joo Yeong-Bong (religious leader and president of the Korean Association of Edible Dogs) describe a unsustainable situation: Merchants have disappeared, debts accumulate and the means to subsist fade.

Not just that. The Times told That many farmers have hundreds of animals that can no longer sell, dogs whose relocation is complex or directly impossible. The government has offered compensation for Up to 600,000 Wones by dog ​​to those who close their farms before the term, but the measure is perceived as insufficient and poorly structured in front of an industry that still has about 500,000 animals in captivity.

An ethical and political storm. The apparent victory of the animalist movement has uncovered a anguishing paradox: Dogs saved from the slaughterhouse could end up being sacrificed anyway due to lack of alternatives. Most of these animals are large, selected for their weight and commercial value, but considered Little suitable for adoption In an urbanized society where the small apartments.

Plus: Many belong or are crossed with the Tosa-Inu breedcataloged as dangerous and subject to strict regulation. And if that were not enough, the shelter saturationthe lack of logistics resources and the social stigma that the dogs raised for consumption drag. Although the government ensures that euthanasia is not part of the plan, even leaders of animal welfare associations have admitted that many dogs They will end up being sacrificed. Activists such as Lee Sangkyung, from Humane World for Animals KoreaThey denounce that neither the State nor civil organizations were prepared to absorb the consequences of their own triumph.

Partial solutions. Some isolated cases, such as R200 dogs escate In Asan and its shipment to Canada and the United States, they show that international adoption can be an exhaust valve, although limited. He stood out The BBC that testimonies such as former Yang Jong-Tae They reveal an emotional transformation: seeing how rescuers treated dogs with human dignity to him deeply, despite continuing to oppose the veto. For him, as for many in his guild, dog meat is not morally different to that of cow or pork.

However, experts like Chun Myung-Sun point out that the consumption of canine meat entails health risks Superiors for not being integrated into the regulated meat system of the country. Although dog meat is still consumed in countries such as China, Vietnam or parts of Africa, in South Korea it has become more and more taboo. In 2024, only 8 % of citizens claimed to have tried it in the last year, compared to 27 % in 2015. From the announcement of the veto, more than 600 of the 1,537 farms They have closed.

Ruin and generational emptiness. In addition, cultural progress brings with it a painful social invoice. The Times told that many breeders, especially the elderly, have resigned their future To poverty. Born in times of hunger and war, they say they can survive without income. However, young people in the sector face a much more gloomy reality: indebted, without buyers or clear job exit, and trapped in an activity condemned by law.

Cases Like Chan-Wooa 33 -year -old farmer with 600 dogs and all its invested capital, describe the feeling of helplessness when seeing that neither the government nor the animalist organizations have offered them real solutions. Its history illustrates the clash between a moral system in transformation and an informal economy left on the sidelines. What began as a fight for animal compassion now runs the risk of translating A humanitarian disaster unnoticed.

The invisible cost. The South Korean government currently invests some 4.3 million dollars Annual in expanding shelters and supporting private facilities, but still lacks a solid plan for the “disposition” of dogs. Animal defenders have relocated thousands since 2015, but warn that they cannot absorb The current volume.

The farmers, on the other hand, cry out for an extension of the grace period, although some fear that it is not enough. Joo Yeong-Bong He warned That if a sustainable way is not found to solve the fate of dogs and humans trapped in this forced transition, the consequences in 2027 could be tragic.

Thus, while the Fex prohibition From dog in South Korea can represent a moral milestone for the vast majority, it also exposes the ethical, economic and social dilemmas that arise after the approval of the law.

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