World Dog Alliance: 6 Out of 10 South Koreans Support Banning Dog Meat

SEOUL, South Korea, February 9, 2022 (Newswire.com) - During a government meeting on Sept. 27, 2021, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in raised banning the eating of dogs in the country. While presiding over a government policy coordination meeting on Nov. 25, 2021, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the government would form a civilian-led consultative body to produce a social consensus on whether to ban dog meat consumption. After government heads expressed interest in banning the consumption of dog meat in South Korea, the World Dog Alliance funded a poll for social consensus.

"With the sharp increase in the number of households with pets and growing public interest in animal rights and animal welfare, we are witnessing increasing calls against viewing dog meat consumption as part of an old food culture. We will form a joint private-government consultative body led by civilians and produce a social consensus." - Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum

The public consultation is expected to be completed in April 2022.

The World Dog Alliance (WDA), an internationally recognized animal protection group, says President Moon's proposal is forward-looking, and that the public consultation demonstrates the democratic value that South Korea upholds.

To provide the South Korean government with objective and trustworthy polling results, the World Dog Alliance commissioned Embrain Public to conduct a poll on the ban on dog meat. Embrain Public is a leading Korean polling firm that is often commissioned by major Korean media to conduct and publish public opinion polls on social issues such as presidential candidates' approval ratings.

For a poll to be valid, a sample of 500 people is usually required by international standards. The World Dog Alliance specifically requested Embrain Public to conduct a sample of 1,000 South Korean citizens to make the poll results more credible.

Question: The South Korean government is considering outlawing dog meat, do you support this legislation?

Yes (61.4%)        No (20.2％)        Neutral (18.4%)

The number of respondents who support the dog meat ban is triple of those who are against. It is a common sight for a democratic society to pass a law with an approval rate of over 60%.

Other responses to the poll revealed that nearly 8 out of 10 South Koreans see dogs as companion animals, while over half believe the habit of eating dog meat is harmful to the national image. The poll results show that South Korea is becoming a dog-loving country and that the practice of eating dog meat is no longer acceptable to many.

Question: Dogs are human's companions and family members, do you agree?

Yes (79.2%)       No (9.4%)       Neutral (11.4%)

Question: Do you know that dogs for human consumption live in cages from birth to when they are served on the dining table?

Yes (82.1%)       No (17.9%)

Question: Do you think that the habit of eating dog meat would damage the national image of South Korea?

Yes (57.8%)       No (19.9%)       Neutral (22.3%)

Question: Do you know that the Chinese city of Shenzhen and the Vietnamese city of Hoi An have banned dog and cat meat?

Yes (7.1%)       No (92.9%)

The World Dog Alliance urges the South Korean government to listen to the voice of the people by outlawing the practice of dog meat. The new law will improve the international image of South Korea and help the country become a global cultural hub.

Him Lo
info@wdalliance.org

Source: World Dog Alliance