Dog meat awaits customers inwards a store inwards S. Korea's Moran Market.
An Article co-written past times Thaddeus & Megan for The Seoul Times
http://www.theseoultimes.com
National
Dogs Are Farmed, Raised for Eating inwards S. Korea
Staff Writer
However, inwards our e'er to a greater extent than globalized world, the pressure level of exterior influences on those native dining habits involve maintain begun to hold upward felt. This is especially truthful of domestic dog meat inwards South Korea. In a bespeak to larn to a greater extent than close this increasingly polarizing topic, nosotros decided to involve a trip to the Moran Market due east of Seoul to meet the practise for ourselves.
Dog meat consumption has occurred inwards many parts of the world, inwards Eastern together with Western countries alike. In Korea the practise of eating domestic dog has been mutual for centuries. The meat is eaten twelvemonth round, most usually inwards summertime time. It is believed past times many that eating domestic dog tin involve virility together with tin cure many ailments. Jin Kim grew upward inwards Korea and, throughout his childhood, eating domestic dog meat was a normal practice. “My menage unit of measurement would often eat domestic dog meat during summertime trips to the province to meet my grandparents.
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| Live dogs are waiting to hold upward slaughtered for meat or soup at a store inwards S. Korea's Moran Market inwards Seongnam City. |
The nutrient is really healthy. It helps laissez passer a long life, clear peel together with build clean body. It too is filling. If yous eat dog, yous tin skip 2 meals following. In the summertime months domestic dog meat volition cool your body.” Though these traditional beliefs were in ane trial widespread, it is unlikely that the benefits of domestic dog meat differ greatly from those of other lean cherry meats similar venison.
The primary breed of domestic dog that is farmed together with raised for eating is the Nureongi. This large breed differs from the dogs that are kept for pets inwards Korea together with reminded me somewhat of a domesticated dingo. Their pilus is curt together with yellow, together with they had a really uniform appearance. Dog meat itself is prepared inwards several ways. It is usually boiled together with eaten inwards a stew, but tin too hold upward steamed or grilled.
In add-on to the debate over the practise of eating domestic dog meat, at that topographic point is too much debate close the fashion of choke for dogs raised every bit livestock. Some people involve maintain asserted that dogs are often killed past times repeatedly hitting them alongside a long stick. This practise may involve maintain been done inwards the belief that a ‘many hitting killing’ mightiness brand the flesh meat move tender. Although others discount this theory pointing to the mutual belief amidst western livestock slaughterers that hurting prior to choke leads animals' meat to move tainted past times adrenaline and, therefore, of much lower quality.
Azumi Sugimoto is an expat from Nippon that has been living inwards Korea for thirteen years. “I create non personally eat domestic dog meat because it is non piece of job of my culture. I empathize that it is piece of job of the Korean civilisation together with create non involve criminal offense to the consumption of domestic dog meat past times Korean people. I create not, however, back upward the killing of dogs brutally. Hitting a domestic dog many times earlier choke is tragic.”
As Republic of Korea becomes increasingly globalized, many people are making the personal selection non to eat domestic dog meat. H5N1 Korean national written report revealed that 59% of Koreans nether the historic catamenia of thirty would non eat domestic dog meat. 62% believe that dogs are pets together with non food. H5N1 growing pct is actively seeking to involve activity against this practice. In recent years, animate existence activist groups involve maintain sprung upward throughout Korea. Narmia Lee, a Korean inwards Seoul, wants to meet an halt to the consumption of domestic dog meat: “Many parts of me say, who are nosotros to distinguish what animals are okay to eat together with what aren't? But animate existence cruelty is my primary termination alongside this. The dogs are treated terribly earlier existence slaughtered. There is no rule of how the animals are cared for prior to their choke since these are all illegal farms. These dogs must hold upward treated together with killed humanely during their lifetime.”
While nosotros discovered a close universal understanding on the necessity of humane handling for these animals, the domestic dog farm manufacture remains relatively independent of oversight together with seemingly hugger-mugger due to its tenuous legal status. Some involve maintain argued that the best agency to enforce humane handling is to fully legalize the merchandise so that at that topographic point tin hold upward additional oversight. This notion bears some resemblance to the agency prostitution is partially legalized inwards many European countries.
If oversight is provided, so the query becomes to a greater extent than close what is acceptable for these dogs other than euthanasia. It is much easier to guess when looking at our relationships alongside our ain pets, but many westerners neglect to realize that millions of dogs are euthanized each twelvemonth to command the pet population, together with their meat is only wasted. While the practise of eating dogs every bit meat is considered socially unacceptable, some v to vii ane thou one thousand companion animals are placed inwards shelters, waiting for a home, each year. According to the animate existence activist foundation, ASPCA, three to 4 ane thou one thousand dogs together with cats don't uncovering a dwelling together with are euthanized each twelvemonth inwards the the U.S. of America. This is lx percent of the domestic dog population inwards America.
In the involvement of learning to a greater extent than close this theme nosotros decided to involve a trip to Moran market, the largest marketplace position for domestic dog sales inwards South Korea. It is located inwards Seoul's southeastern corner together with opened upward on days of the calendar month ending inwards 4 together with 9. Here dogs are on display inwards build clean cages. Butchered meat is sold past times the slice inwards forepart of the living animals. On a recent trip to the market, over 500 dogs were on display inwards cages. The cages seemed hygienic, together with dogs were kept fed together with watered. Ironically, puppies together with kittens are sold every bit pets close fifty meters away inwards the really same piece of job of the market.
While nosotros were expressly instructed non to involve pictures past times many of the workers inwards the area, it was clear that this was non an unhygienic underground practice, every bit is occasionally asserted. Instead it appears to hold upward a relatively opened upward together with sanitary one. Still, our trip to the domestic dog meat part of the Moran Market left us feeling disinclined to partake of it ourselves. The watch too made it easier to empathize the domestication together with processing of dogs for nutrient later witnessing the rows of uniformed cages, really similar to that of whatever other shape of usually eaten livestock. If anything, the experience made us both mean value that the other animals for sale to hold upward slaughtered there, similar ducks together with chickens, were inwards many ways exactly every bit poor every bit the dogs. Ironically, nosotros oft eat the meat from these animals together with involve maintain no intention of stopping. In the halt nosotros learned that in ane trial you've seen something alongside your ain eyes together with gain a clearer understanding of it, previously formed convictions are challenged together with move opened upward to serious reflection, together with mayhap to change.
The higher upward storey was written past times Megan & Thaddeus Fox.