(Yonhap Feature) S. Korea's dog meat industry nearing end amid lingering legal loopholes

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GANGJIN COUNTY, South Korea, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- Trapped inside a cold, rusty wire cage, a black dog cowered in a corner staring out with fearful eyes.

Ranger, a 3-year-old Corgi mix, was among the 46 dogs rescued early Tuesday from a dog meat farm located in the deep countryside of Gangjin County, some 363 kilometers south of Seoul, and sent overseas to find new homes in the United States and Canada.

During the two-hour operation, rescue workers carefully took out the dogs one by one from dozens of elevated cages lined up like prison cells, and placed them into crates with each of their names written on them.

The farm -- estimated to have kept nearly 1,000 dogs at one point -- was permeating with the smell of old feces. Ripped collars were piled up on some cages, suggesting some of the dogs may have been companion dogs with families before ending up at the farm.

"It is quite touching," Lee Sang-kyung, the campaign manager of Humane World for Animals, a global nonprofit for animal protection, said, as he closed off the group's final large-scale dog meat farm rescue in South Korea.

"I hope we can deliver a strong message ... that there will be no dog meat trade, dog meat industry, dog meat consumption from February 2027."

Ranger, a corgi-mix dog, huddles in a corner at a dog meat farm in Gangjin County, South Jeolla Province, on Sept. 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

Consumption of dog meat has long been a seasonal tradition in South Korea.

Dog meat stew, also known in Korean as "bosingtang," was favored among the elderly, who believed the dish helped boost stamina, mostly during the hottest days of the lunar summer.

In January 2024, the National Assembly passed legislation banning the dog meat industry by 2027, with dog farming, slaughtering and dog meat restaurants to be phased out with the support of a government transition package.

Dog farm owners who shutter their property were promised compensation ranging from 225,000 won (US$165.4) to 600,000 won per dog, with higher payouts awarded for earlier closures.

The unanimous decision was a product of shifting societal values, widespread opposition to animal cruelty and strong political consensus, partly boosted by then first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yook Seok Yeol -- a noted animal lover and an outspoken opponent of the dog meat industry.

Agriculture ministry statistics estimate there were 5,898 dog meat businesses at the time of the special act's passing, which included 1,537 farms, 221 slaughterhouses, 1,788 traders and 2,352 restaurants.

The ministry confirmed 82 percent of domestically registered dog meat farms have already closed ahead of the ban as of May, with 272 farms remaining.

Rescue workers from Humane World of Animals transfer a dog into a crate at a dog meat farm in Gangjin County, South Jeolla Province, on Sept. 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

But the dogs rescued from the Gangjin farm are among the lucky ones, the organization said, as many struggle to find new families in South Korea due to insufficient acceptance of dog adoption, particularly for large-sized dogs commonly found at dog farms.

Some dogs have faced the risk of being slaughtered ahead of the ban.

Korea Animal Rights Advocates, a local civic group known as KARA, had reported to authorities in late May finding 29 unreported dogs inside a slaughterhouse in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. The group claimed the dogs were at the brink of being butchered, saying tools such as electric batons and torches were found at the site.

Another animal rights group, WEACT, said it rescued seven dogs from an illegal slaughterhouse in Suncheon, some 327 kilometers south of Seoul, in early May, with the help of local government authorities.

Similarly, the owner of the Gangjin farm underreported the number of dogs at his property. He initially reported a headcount of only 20 dogs, a figure later disproven when the organization found 60 dogs, Lee said.

"I don't think the situation will dramatically change after the ban comes into full effect. Small-scale farming, breeding, slaughtering and trading could be happening," he added.

Abandoned dogs are seen inside a dog protection center in southern Seoul, in this file photo taken on March 23, 2026. (Yonhap)

The number of dogs registered at dog meat farms had shrunk from approximately 467,000 before the ban to some 22,000 dogs as of May. But only around 800 released from the farms were taken care of by the local government or were adopted, according to the agriculture ministry.

Under South Korean law, animals are classified as "property" and local governments or civic groups must obtain the farm owners' consent to relinquish ownership before they can rescue and care for the dogs. This means the remaining animals can be exposed to neglect and disease should a farm owner postpone closure or abandon the dogs, experts said.

National dog shelters are too packed to take in every dog released from the farms, an official from the agriculture ministry said. In South Korea, around 100,000 dogs are rescued by local government-operated animal shelters every year, but their maximum simultaneous capacity is only around 20,000.

"We held discussions with animal rights groups and local governments regarding this issue multiple times last year, but due to legal limits and other realistic hurdles, we were unable to come up with a clear solution," the official said.

"The ministry is aware of such criticism and has been actively cooperating with organizations in their rescue missions, as well as discussions to come up with alternatives."

fairydust@yna.co.kr (END)

(Yonhap Feature) S. Korea's dog meat industry nearing end amid lingering legal loopholes

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韩国江津郡，10月2日（韩联社）——一只黑狗被困在一个冰冷生锈的铁丝笼里，蜷缩在角落里，眼神充满恐惧地望着外面。

Ranger是一只3岁的柯基犬混血犬，它是周二清晨从位于首尔以南约363公里的江津郡偏远乡村的一家狗肉养殖场救出的46只狗之一，这些狗被送往海外，在美国和加拿大寻找新家。

在两个小时的救援行动中，救援人员小心翼翼地将狗狗们从数十个像监狱牢房一样排列的高架笼子里一只一只地取出，并将它们放入写有各自名字的板条箱中。

这座农场——据估计鼎盛时期曾饲养近千只狗——弥漫着陈年粪便的恶臭。一些笼子上堆放着破损的项圈，这表明其中一些狗在被送到农场之前可能曾是家庭的伴侣犬。

“这非常令人感动，”全球动物保护非营利组织“人道世界动物”的活动经理李相京在韩国结束了该组织最后一次大规模狗肉养殖场救援行动时说道。

“我希望我们能够传递一个强烈的信号……那就是从2027年2月起，将不再有狗肉交易、狗肉产业和狗肉消费。”

2026年9月29日，在韩国全罗南道江津郡一家狗肉养殖场，一只名叫Ranger的柯基混血犬蜷缩在角落里。（韩联社）

在韩国，食用狗肉由来已久，是一种季节性的传统习俗。

狗肉炖菜，在韩国也被称为“bosingtang”，深受老年人的喜爱，他们认为这道菜有助于增强体力，尤其是在农历夏季最炎热的日子里。

2024 年 1 月，国民议会通过立法，禁止狗肉产业在 2027 年前取缔，政府将出台过渡方案，逐步淘汰狗的养殖、屠宰和狗肉餐馆。

关闭犬舍的犬舍主人将获得每只狗 225,000 韩元（165.4 美元）至 600,000 韩元的补偿，提前关闭可获得更高的赔偿。

这一一致决定是社会价值观转变、民众普遍反对虐待动物以及强有力的政治共识的产物，部分原因在于当时的第一夫人金建熙（被罢黜总统陆锡烈的妻子）——一位著名的动物爱好者和狗肉产业的公开反对者。

农业部统计数据显示，在特别法案通过时，共有 5,898 家狗肉企业，其中包括 1,537 个农场、221 个屠宰场、1,788 个贸易商和 2,352 家餐馆。

该部确认，截至5月，国内注册的狗肉养殖场已有82%在禁令生效前关闭，目前还剩下272家养殖场。

2026年9月29日，在韩国全罗南道江津郡一家狗肉养殖场，来自“动物人道世界”的救援人员将一只狗转移到笼子里。（韩联社）

该组织表示，从江津农场救出的狗狗算是幸运的，因为在韩国，由于人们对领养狗狗的接受度不够高，很多狗狗很难找到新家，尤其是对于在狗场常见的大型犬来说更是如此。

一些狗在禁令生效前就面临着被宰杀的风险。

韩国动物权益倡导者协会（KARA）是一个地方公民团体，该团体于5月下旬向当局报告称，在首尔以南平泽市的一家屠宰场内发现了29只未登记的犬只。该团体称，这些犬只即将被宰杀，并在现场发现了电击棒和手电筒等工具。

另一个动物权利组织 WEACT 表示，在当地政府部门的帮助下，他们在 5 月初从首尔以南约 327 公里的顺天市一家非法屠宰场救出了 7 只狗。

李说，同样，江津农场的主人也少报了农场里的狗的数量。他最初报告说只有20只狗，但后来该组织发现有60只狗，推翻了这个数字。

“我认为禁令全面生效后，情况不会发生巨大变化。小规模的养殖、饲养、屠宰和交易可能仍然会进行，”他补充道。

这张摄于2026年3月23日的资料照片显示，在首尔南部一家犬类保护中心内，可以看到一些被遗弃的犬只。（韩联社）

禁令实施前，狗肉养殖场登记在册的犬只数量约为46.7万只，而截至5月份，这一数字已锐减至约2.2万只。但据农业部统计，从养殖场获救的犬只中，只有约800只得到了地方政府的照料或被领养。

根据韩国法律，动物被归类为“财产”，地方政府或民间团体必须获得农场主的同意才能放弃所有权，并救助和照顾这些犬只。专家表示，这意味着如果农场主推迟关闭农场或遗弃犬只，剩余的动物可能会遭受忽视和疾病的威胁。

韩国农业部一位官员表示，国家级犬只收容所人满为患，无法接收所有从农场获救的犬只。在韩国，地方政府运营的动物收容所每年救助约10万只犬只，但其最大容纳能力仅为2万只左右。

“去年我们曾多次与动物权利组织和地方政府就此问题进行讨论，但由于法律限制和其他现实障碍，我们未能找到明确的解决方案，”该官员表示。

“该部注意到了这些批评，并一直在积极与各组织合作开展救援行动，以及进行讨论以提出替代方案。”

fairydust@yna.co.kr (完)

（韩联社特稿）韩国狗肉产业因法律漏洞持续存在而接近终结