Photo : YONHAP News
Breeding, distributing and selling dogs and dog meat for human consumption will be banned in South Korea starting in February 2027, and plans are in place to shut down the industry.
According to the agriculture ministry on Thursday, of some five-thousand-800 businesses registered as dog breeding farms, dog meat restaurants or related entities, all have submitted plans to shut down or reclassify.
The ministry said the 2025 state budget allocates 109-point-five billion won, or around 82 million U.S. dollars, to accelerate the business shutdowns and other planned actions.
The current population of dogs being raised for food is estimated to be around 466-thousand dogs at one-thousand-500 farms, and farms that surrender their dogs can receive up to 600-thousand won for each animal.
The surrendered dogs will be placed under protection and management in line with the Animal Protection Act.
The ministry in charge of small and midsize businesses will provide support for those distributors and restaurants planning to shut down, as well as for restaurants seeking to change their menus.