dog-meat in S. Korea is becoming a generational battle: elders eat it, youth protest it

[leashedForLife]

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the total number of dog-meat restaurants in Seoul, S Korea, fell from 30K to 7K, & dog-farms raising dogs for consumption were similarly decimated. // Traditionally, dog-meat is eaten mostly in summer, but sick ppl ate it as "medicine" year-round. It is supposed to help U to heal, so post-surgery patients would eat it, & it's also believed to build endurance.
Nowadays, many dog-farms for mass breeding are going out of business, & the biggest live-animal market in Seoul, once on the very edge of town, is today along a main drag, beside a school route. After many complaints by passersby & local residents, they got rid of all the live meat-animals: the goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, everything, & the slaughtering facilities, too; now, they sell only pre-cut, packaged meat, & a tenth of what they sold, before.

Hygiene standards have been raised on many of the few remaining dog-farms, but they still feed the dogs a sloppy-looking brownish sludge of cooked leftovers, which the dogs must lap up; it prevents fights by forcing the dogs to "drink" their meals, they cannot take a hunk out & retire with it, to gnaw elsewhere.
The 1988 Olympics brought a lot of embarrassing foreign attn to dog-meat, & the fast-growing popularity of dogs as indoor pets in cities is fulminating rapid change in the image of dogs in the public eye.
Once seen as dirty strays in cities & disease-carriers who menaced livestock in rural areas, they're now groomed fussily & wear clothes that resemble toddlers' outfits.
They're fed from the family's plates at the table, & spoiled outrageously. Dog-yoga & dog massage are drawing young professionals in, with their pampered pets in tow.
It's a new world.

- terry

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[arealhuman]

I never understood the desire to eat dog meat.

 

[leashedForLife]

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I can't fathom it, either, ARH - nor the desire to eat horsemeat, even simply per food safety, as horses are given drugs that are dangerous to humans, which are never given to cattle, poultry, etc.
I can't see either dogs or horses as 'food' - any more than i'd see a Betta splendens as food, but a trout could be, so i guess i'm just as hypocritical & confusing as all other humans.

I can eat sardines, but wouldn't want to eat a goldfish - even tho it's just a different-colored or oddly-shaped carp.
Folk are queer, & i'm folk.

- terry
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[Flobo]

For me,I find it hard to see sheep in the field with their offspring skipping about knowing their fate, in some countries all animals are seen as a food source, maybe here in the west we just find it harder to think of dogs as food because of our relationship with them, but to me is a cow or lamb or pig any easier to farm and eat?? And I'm not by any means saying eating dogs is right either btw, but that I struggle with the thought of eating any animal! ( which is why I don't)

 

[leashedForLife]

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I grew-up on a family farm, & we had sheep [I was the shepherd, midwife, farmhand, etc], calves raised for meat, hens that laid our eggs, ponies & horses, geese & ducks, dogs, barn-cats & indoor Siamese, & my younger sis raised meat-rabbits.
I also had a plethora of short-term visitors, wildlings who were ill, injured, or orphaned, most of whom survived to be released, & every summer i caught snakes that i kept until autumn, when i put them back where i'd got them.

So i grew-up eating meat, & both hunted & fished, & slaughtered some animals for eating; however, after a car-accident in 1984, my intestines were damaged by antibiotics given in quick succession, & i can no longer eat meat-fats. I must also limit how much veg-oil or dairy fats i eat; overconsumption causes the trots, for several days.

I haven't eaten meat [other than fish, & that's not often] in a long time - i thought i'd miss it, but i've never yearned for it, which is just as well, LOL - i've gained wt with age, but very slowly, thank heaven, & i think my mostly-meatless diet has helped.

I also found out, in my college animal-science courses, how very different the process of breeding, rearing, finish, & slaughter is, under commercial-Ag rather than family-farm meat production. I urge everyone who eats meat to find pasture-raised, small-farm sources for their meat, & sustainable fisheries to provide their fish. High-input CAFOs are both unethical & unsustainable, & nonhumans need space, clean food, clean environs, & housing that allows for normal behaviors.
Crowding, de-beaking, crate-raised veal calves, battery egg-production, hock-deep muck in open-air pens... these are not only inhumane, but unhealthy - for us as consumers, for the poor beasts, & for our planet.

- terry

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[leashedForLife]

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I don't know what pets might be more-popular in S Korea; dogs are owned by 24% of S Korean households, & they gained 8% in a single year, which is a huge growth-rate.
Maybe fish, cats, crickets, or other pets are even-more popular than dogs - i don't know. Perhaps aquaria or reptiles or frogs are popular choices - or cage-birds, such as finches & canaries?

In the USA, pet-ownership is at an all-time high, with over 65% of households owning at least one pet, & 1 in 3 of those homes has multiple pets. One-third of all U-S dog-owners has 2 or more dogs, not one. Among cat-owners, multiple cats are even more common; nearly half of all cat-owners have multiple kitties.

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[Nanny71]

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I can't fathom it, either, ARH - nor the desire to eat horsemeat, even simply per food safety, as horses are given drugs that are dangerous to humans, which are never given to cattle, poultry, etc.
I can't see either dogs or horses as 'food' - any more than i'd see a Betta splendens as food, but a trout could be, so i guess i'm just as hypocritical & confusing as all other humans.

I can eat sardines, but wouldn't want to eat a goldfish - even tho it's just a different-colored or oddly-shaped carp.
Folk are queer, & i'm folk.

- terry
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I agree with you about dogs and horses. My husband won't eat his own chickens although he does eat their eggs.
I grew up eating home reared chickens and pigs. Just postwar it was the only way to afford meat at all.
My grandad also shot rabbits and pigeons for the pot.

 

[Kayak]

My workplace is very diverse and a lot of my colleagues have eaten dog meat. I'd personally be too scared to try it, what if I liked it and got a craving for some deep fried Kay one day?