South Korea has plans to introduce a rule to ban the consumption of dog meat.
Eating dogs has long been a practice on the Korean Peninsula, but has come under mounting criticism - both internationally and within South Korea - particularly from the younger generation.
Previous attempts to impose a ban on eating dogs have failed as people who work in the industry had expressed concern about livelihoods.
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Now, the government has said that it intends to propose a bill which would ban the practice of eating dogs in South Korea.
Policy chief of the ruling People Power Party Yu Eui-dong said: “It is time to put an end to social conflicts and controversies around dog meat consumption through the enactment of a special act to end it."
The government and ruling party has said that it plans to introduce the plan to ban eating dog meat this year.
It added that with bipartisan support, which is expected, it would pass in parliament easily.
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Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun has also clarified that the government hopes to offer support to those working in the industry, to be able to adjust their businesses to move away from trading in dog meat.
First lady Kim Keon Hee is among those who have opposed the practice. She has publicly criticised those who sell and consume dog meat.
She and her husband, President Yoon Suk Yeol, have also adopted stray dogs.
The bill will also include a grace period of three years for businesses to move away from dog meat into alternative avenues, as a measure to minimise the impact on business as the ban goes into effect.
Despite being an old practice, eating dog meat has become less popular in recent years in South Korea.
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Some people, who are typically older, do still eat dog and some restaurants do still serve it.
According to government data, there are around 1,150 dog breeding farms, 34 slaughter houses, and 219 distribution companies which deal in dog meat.
There are also an estimated 1,600 restaurants which serve dog in the country out of a total of approximately 8200 in the country.
The proposals have been welcomed by animal rights groups.
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In a statement, Humane Society International said that a ban would be 'a dream come true for all of us who have campaigned so hard to end this cruelty.'
Topics: News, World News, Food and Drink, Korea