An appeal has been made to the central government (not to stop butchering dogs) but to propose categorizing dogs as livestock in order to regulate the trade of dog meat and improve sanitation inspections.Apparently there is an absence of regulations regarding the sale of dog meat, which is considered a delicacy in Korea.
City officials claim that this categorization of dogs as livestock will force things to improve.
“The real problem is, we cannot regulate the sanitation process of how dog meat is served due to the lack of regulations. We will have a series of public hearings to discuss the issue as it’s a necessary step,” said one official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Dogs are regarded the same as horses, donkeys, rabbits and deer; not as beef and chicken are considered livestock. This permits mass breeding, butchering and serving of dog meat in restaurants, but does not allow authorities to apply the same regulations regarding livestock to dog meat.
Animal rights groups and dog lovers have been extremely vocal condemning the treatment of dogs in South Korea.
Back in 2001, a similar law was proposed to set up proper regulations concerning dog meat and its categorization as “livestock,” but it was scrapped due to pressure from animal rights protesters.
Dog meat is considered a natural product in Korea, and it doesn't appear that there will be any change in attitude anytime soon.
For now, the way the laws are set up the authorities can only take a legal action against individuals who butcher dogs in a brutal way or cause pollution to the environment during the slaughter process.
Where's Andy Dick these days?
