(KR) Right to canine cuisine gets teeth

[Guest guest]

Saturday, December 29, 2001

South China Morning Post

http://asia.scmp.com/ZZZ4EMXSNVC.html

AGENCIES in Seoul

 

Lawmakers bit back at growing criticism of the country's dog-eating

habits from the likes of Brigitte Bardot yesterday, putting forward a bill

to legalise the commercial slaughter of dogs.

 

Some dogs are bred to be eaten in South Korea, notably in poshintang

,

literally " body preservation stew " , which advocates say is good for the

health.

 

But while culinary canines rank third as commercial livestock in South

Korea behind cattle and pigs, dogs raised for food fall outside the

Livestock Processing Act.

 

Unregulated slaughter has spawned abuses, including burning, beating

and boiling of live dogs, drawing sharp criticism from overseas animal

activists in the run-up to next year's World Cup soccer finals, which South

Korea will co-host with Japan.

 

The bill to bring dog meat under commercial livestock laws, proposed

by 20 ruling and opposition legislators, follows a bitter spat pitting

French actress-turned-activist Bardot against angry South Korean dog-meat

defenders.

 

Bardot touched off a nationalistic outcry when she told local media

she would distribute protest pictures depicting the torture of dogs before

the World Cup.

 

Her campaign drew a torrent of attacks and threats, with anti-Bardot

Web sites launched carrying Korean profanities and pornographic references

to Bardot's fame as a cinema sex symbol.

 

Bardot, 67, said Koreans who treated her protest as a cultural slight

missed her point, which was opposition to the cruelty involved in preparing

dogs.

 

Proponents of the bill stuck to the cultural argument, saying the

Government had not moved to legalise commercial dog meat because it was

overly sensitive to foreign criticism.

 

" Foreign criticism of dog meat reflects lack of understanding of our

nation's ancient culture - it is blasphemy, not criticism, " conservative

lawmaker Kim Hong-shin told Parliament.

 

But other advocates of the legislation said it would help the

Government impose more stringent checks to enforce laws that ban cruelty to

animals.

 

South Korea has received a letter from Fifa, the sport's world

governing body, urging it to be sensitive to foreign public antipathy to the

practice of eating dogs. But Seoul World cup organisers say dog meat is not

Fifa's business.