South Korea’s parliament passed a bill Tuesday banning the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption, ending the traditional yet controversial practice of eating dog meat after years of nationwide debate.

The bill received rare bipartisan support across South Korea’s divided political landscape, highlighting how attitudes toward eating dog have transformed over the past few decades during the country’s rapid industrialization.

The law will ban the distribution and sale of food products made or processed with dog ingredients, according to the corresponding committee of the National Assembly.

However, customers who consume dog meat or related products will not be subject to punishment – meaning the law would largely target those working in the industry such as dog farmers or sellers.

  • Destide@feddit.uk
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    10 months ago

    There’s a hypocracy for many of us judging this but snaking down on bacon or burgers

    • The Assman@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      I don’t know if you meant “snacking” but I got a chuckle imagining me slithering around with a gigantic belly filled with bacon cheeseburgers.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      LOL you fully offended 10 people at the time of this comment. People get as snowflakey around meat as they do around guns.

    • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I guess but it’s human nature to be biased toward people and animals you have experience with. The idea of killing a dog for any non-mercy reason is repellent to me and there’s no issue with that. I would prefer not to eat animals at all but I tried and it’s quite difficult for me to avoid entirely so now I’m probably 80% vegetarian. If that’s HyPoCrIsY, okay.

    • fireweed@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      In terms of “pigs have comparable intelligence and awareness to dogs, and thus if consuming a dog is wrong because they’re intelligent then so is consuming a pig,” or “a life is a life no matter the species,” yes this tracks.

      However a single nureongi (a common dog breed in the Korean dog meat industry) only weighs 40-55lbs whereas a single pig will usually weigh 250-325lbs at slaughter. After the butchering process, the amount of edible meat is reduced for both, but proportionally speaking much more is lost per-animal from the dog.

      “Amount of suffering/number of lives per pound of meat” feels like a crass discussion, however given that a majority (and in many countries, a vast majority) of people consume an omnivorous diet (and are highly resistant to switching to strict vegetarianism/veganism), it’s perhaps an unavoidable discussion.

    • Dyskolos
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      10 months ago

      It totally is. We seemingly just hate cows, pigs and chicken, but love cats’n’dogs.

      And for simple-minded people it’s always easy and morally fulfilling to care for other people’s “injustices”. Like being contra whale-hunting while not knowing where whales even live 😁

    • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
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      10 months ago

      And for the remaining 90% of people there isn’t, because that’s how subjective cultural values work.

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      It’s just optics. Dog meat was only eaten by the absolute poorest in South Korea, the fascist Yoon administration just wanted an easy win. Morally and economically, there’s no benefit to banning dog meat over beef or pork, but because dogs are also pets it makes Yoon look better and can distract from him targeting minorities, disabled people, women, and ruining the economy.

      Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather no dogs get eaten, but this was just a cheap shot to make a fascist look better.

      Is it a good thing? Ultimately, yes, but it’s helpful to analyze the context. President Yoon is a fascist with declining popularity and banned something that was already pretty much nonexistent except in the absolute poorest areas.

        • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          Not because there are a bunch of dog-eating supporters, it was almost entirely gone beforehand, only the poorest people were still eating dog. This wasn’t some grand win for a fascist that happens to love dogs, but a move for political capital. There aren’t cultural or traditional reasons to eat dog meat in SK.

          It’s like banning consumption of squirrel in America. It wasn’t really happening and it doesn’t solve much.

          • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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            10 months ago

            I got news for you, buddy. I’m from the Midwest. I know several people who hunt and eat squirrel. Not because they’re broke, either.

              • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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                10 months ago

                Almost year round hunting for them. Only two or three months a year it isn’t squirrel season. Pick a nice day for a stroll in the woods with a light little 22 rifle and collect some dinner to grill while having a few beers.

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Dog meat was only eaten by the absolute poorest in South Korea, anyone who could afford more expensive meat was eating that instead. Dog meat isn’t a delicacy.

      • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It is now that it’s banned. Supply curve inverted. Billionaires will have secret meetings to consume it in the dead of night, under shroud of darkness.

  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    In Abrahamic religions the eating of carnivorous animals such as cats and dogs is banned. Why is North Korea following this though?

    I thought this was just the West holding on to old tradition since people do eat pets like rabbits and birds.

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    So no dogs… Find a new source of COVID. Aha! Rat testicles! Ofcourse!

    In the news… Breaking news update, New York needs more rats! Every since the Koreans stopped eating dogs and started chomping on rat balls the population has declined below the extinction levels required for federal protection. If you see a rat, report it weareabouts to the government.