An article by a Korean newspaper – ‘Snake soup and dog meat soup are not food’

[Guest guest]

For some time now, the Korean media have been

complicit in the abuse of animals. They give scant

coverage to those who campaign against the country’s

brutal and inhumane dog and cat meat trade, yet they

allow the dog-eating community carte blanche to

promote some utterly bogus health claims as a way of

justifying their eating habits. If the Korean media

(and, of course, the government) had made a genuine

effort to address the issue of using dogs and cats for

food, this abhorrent practice might well have been

banished already - especially given that one in five

Korean households now keeps dogs as family pets.

 

However, having read an article published on 19th

February 2004, in the Segae Daily newspaper, it was

refreshing to note that the media can occasionally be

part of the solution. (Pleased see a translation from

the paper at the end of this email. A big thank you to

Kim Singer for his kind help with proofreading.) If

more newspapers would alert people to the fact that

dog eating is both illegal and unwholesome, it would

make the work of caring Koreans very much easier. It

would certainly help bring to an end this repugnant

and dangerous practice and hopefully promote a new era

of compassion among Koreans toward their animals and,

indeed, toward each other. A separate article, also

published by The Segae Daily, refuted the claimed

health benefits of dog meat. But although it is

encouraging to see such articles emerging, there is

still a long way to go in this campaign against the

illegal trade that has brought so much misery to so

many animals and, of course, to the people who love

them. Those of us who care about animals must

continue, for example, to urge the Korean government

not to proceed with a recently proposed definition

that seeks to establish a legal distinction between

“pet” dogs and “food” dogs. (Many dog meat traders

have already tried to employ this spurious distinction

in order to justify the slaughter of dogs for the

dinner table.)

 

Please below. Your continued support

is vital to help IAKA and KAPS block the Korean

government’s latest attempt to legitimize the dog and

cat meat trade.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/urgentaction.htm

 

 

Yoon

 

 

 

 

The world of health food: ‘Snake soup and dog meat

soup are not food’

Health food seen from the perspective of law.

 

There are many so-called ‘health’ foods that make use

of animals or animal parts. However, from capture to

consumption, very few of these foods are without legal

issues of one sort or another.

 

For instance, it is perfectly legal for Koreans to

capture snakes, but it is illegal for them to make

snake soup and then sell the product. This is also

true with dog meat, often referred to as ‘health

soup’. According to the Food Hygiene Laws, snake soup

and dog meat soup are not classed as foods. Equally,

not all snakes can be lawfully trapped. It is illegal,

for example, to capture either the yellowish-brown

variety or pit vipers due to their status as

endangered species.

 

Indeed, it seems there will soon be yet more ‘health’

foods declared illegal. Next year, the Wild Animal And

Plant Protection Law comes into force. In principle,

this legislation bans the capture of all wildlife -

including reptiles, mammals, amphibians and birds. The

difficulty arises when it comes to the enforcement of

this new law. Even at present, the authorities already

have the right to shut down the businesses of those

who flout the law by selling snake or dog meat soup.

These sanctions, however, are simply never

implemented.

 

To what extent, then, is capture allowed?

 

The law prohibiting the capture of wildlife is quite

condensed. The government has designated 194 species

of wildlife and plants as being either “protected” or

“endangered”. Animals used in the manufacture of

health foods such as seals, otters, musk deer and moon

bears, are all officially protected. According to the

‘Nature and Environment Preservation Law’, capturing

these animals is punishable by a fine of up to

30,000,000 Korean won or a maximum of 5 years

imprisonment. Similarly, the ‘Cultural Assets

Protection Law’ provides a scale of punishments for

those who capture an animal classified as a ‘natural

monument’, or from a habitat within a designated

protection area.

 

According to the ‘Mammals and Birds Protection and

Hunting Law’ the capture of many ordinary, unprotected

mammals or birds is also banned in principle. It is

legal, however, to trap certain mammals and birds as

determined by the Environment Minister at a designated

time and place, or after obtaining permission for

research projects, etc.

 

Food or non-food?

 

In the eyes of the law, neither snake nor dog soup are

recognised officially as foods. According to the Food

Hygiene Law, edible animals (other than fish) includes

“cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks,

pheasants, quails, horses, deer, imported seals,

geese, kangaroos, crocodiles, badgers, ostriches,

certain edible frogs and terrapins”. It is therefore

illegal to sell any other animals not on the list for

food - including snakes or dogs. As a result, when

snakes and dogs are processed for food, because it is

illegal, there is simply no official regulatory body

in place charged with ensuring that the slaughter and

sale of these animals meets the required minimum

hygiene standards. Sunghi Whang, Assistant Senior

Official at the Food Safety Department said, “Safety

inspections are routinely carried out at premises

involved in the preparation of food, but there is

nothing in place to ensure the safety of food derived

from animals that are not recognised as such.”

 

 

 

 

=====

Friends of dogs

http://www.friendsofdogs.net

Dogs brighten our life with their gift of love. It is our turn to help our dogs.

Please help organisations who are fighting to get dogs out of the food chain.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://www.linisgobyerno.org/special_projects.htm

 

 

 

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