According to a poll released by the South Korean polling agency Realmeter on the 3rd, nearly 48.9% of the South Korean people oppose the government's legislation to ban dog meat, while only 38.6% are in favor, while others have reservations.
At the end of September last year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the relevant authorities to discuss the dog meat fasting plan, which sparked a discussion in South Korean society about whether dog meat should be mandatory. According to a poll released by the South Korean polling agency Realmeter on the 3rd, nearly 48.9% of the South Korean people oppose the government's legislation to ban dog meat, while only 38.6% are in favor, while others have reservations.
A relevant person from the Korean Food and Drug Safety Department said on the 3rd that in the case of sharp opposition in social opinions, there will be no restrictions on the consumption of dog meat in the form of legislation.
According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on the 3rd, on Tuesday, Realmeter Company conducted a relevant investigation of 500 adults in South Korea. In terms of gender, the male opposition rate was higher, at 57.1 per cent. Among women, 40.9% were opposed. In terms of age, among those aged 18 to 29, the proportion of objections was higher, reaching 60.9%, far higher than the 27% in favor. Among respondents in their 50s (47.2% in favour and 42.2% against) and over 70 (44.5% in favour and 39.5% against), the response rate was higher. The sampling error of the survey was ±4.4% and the confidence was 95%. According to South Korea's "Jingxiang News" reported on the 3rd, in response to the question of whether to legislate the ban on dog meat, the South Korean medical and medical safety departments clearly stated that if there is no social consensus, it will be difficult to legislate the ban. Relevant experts said that the consumption of dog meat in the law is not clear, south Korea has a law prohibiting animal cruelty, but now it is still allowed to eat dog meat.
The organization said that there is currently no management of the consumption of dog meat, there are many health hazards in the consumption of dog meat, and dog meat should be banned from circulating in the market. In this regard, proponents of eating dog meat say that as long as the legislation is perfect, a clear distinction can be made between "edible dogs" and "pet dogs". However, some argue that the two are difficult to distinguish, as abandoned pet dogs and stray dogs are often seen in illegal slaughterhouses.
Eating dog meat has a long history in South Korea, and dog meat is considered a good product for kidney and aphrodisiac, which is loved by the elderly, but this practice has caused international criticism. During the site of the first South Korean Olympics in 1988 and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, the issue of banning dog meat sparked controversy. Westerners accuse South Korea of eating dog meat as "barbaric", which has triggered a wave of domestic "anti-dog meat" in South Korea, and even dog broth has been forced to change its name to "nutritious soup" or "four seasons soup".
BBC reported that Moon jae-in is a dog lover and made an initiative to ban dog meat during his tenure. In recent years, dog meat consumption has shown a downward trend driven by Korean animal activists and young people. According to relevant departments, as of the end of last year, about 6.38 million households in South Korea, or about 30% of households, had pets, most of which were cats and dogs. It can be seen that dog meat dishes are difficult to find in major cities in South Korea. However, data show that at least one million dogs in South Korea are now made into dog meat products every year.