(1/6)Policemen attempt to detain a person who’s the president of the Korean Association of Edible Dogs as others scuffle with them throughout a protest to demand the federal government scrap plans to cross a invoice to implement a ban on consuming canine meat, in entrance of the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, November 30,… Acquire Licensing Rights
SEOUL, Nov 30 (Reuters) – About 200 South Korean farmers who breed and lift dogs for human consumption held a rally on Thursday close to the presidential workplace within the capital Seoul, demanding the federal government scrap a plan to ban the controversial centuries-old apply.
Dozens of farmers, who had tried to drive into the road in entrance of the presidential workplace by truck with dogs in cages that they supposed to launch on the scene, had been turned away by the police who inspected the cargo lined with blankets.
The ruling occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol has launched a invoice to ban the breeding and sale of dogs for consumption and supply monetary compensation for these within the trade pressured to shutter their business inside a three-year grace interval.
The time is now to place an finish to the controversy round consuming canine meat, occasion members have stated, including there was broad assist from the opposition occasion, which at present controls parliament, and from the general public.
More than 6 million South Korean households now personal dogs as pets in a rustic of about 51 million individuals, and Yoon and his spouse Kim Keon Hee are house owners of six dogs, together with a retired information canine and a rescue canine.
A Gallup Korea ballot final yr confirmed almost two-thirds of respondents opposed consuming canine meat, with solely 8% saying they’d eaten canine inside the previous yr, down from 27% in 2015.
Ju Yeong-bong, who represents an trade group and led Thursday’s rally, stated politicians had no proper to shut down an trade or determine what individuals selected to eat.
“We cannot agree with the concept it’s barbaric, as a result of all international locations which have the custom of animal husbandry have sooner or later eaten dogs and there are nonetheless international locations the place it is completed,” he stated.
The farmers had been fully excluded from dialogue on the invoice and proposed monetary compensation was fully insufficient given they might lose their livelihoods, Ju stated.
The farmers scuffled with police who outnumbered them and arrange barricades to cease them from crossing the road to maneuver nearer to the presidential workplace. Three protesters together with Ju had been detained by police in a chaotic scene, the organisers stated.
While the apply of consuming canine meat has declined in reputation, the farmers and restaurant house owners who serve the meat have been preventing to maintain it authorized.
The farmers have accused First Lady Kim, a vocal critic of canine meat consumption, of exercising what they name improper strain on the federal government and the ruling occasion to herald the ban.
“The First Lady has spoken out about this subject with eager curiosity, and each within the nation and overseas there’s assist and consensus, in addition to from the opposition occasion,” the presidential workplace stated.
Reporting by Jimin Jung, Dogyun Kim and Hongji Kim, Writing by Jack Kim, Editing by Ed Davies and Jamie Freed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
