One of the largest Dog Meat Suppliers in South Korea Closing

​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-busan-based-gupo-dog-meat-market-announces-plans-to-close-19-stores-in-south-korea/

In what will hopefully spur a chain reaction, Gupo Livestock Market in South Korea will be shutting down 19 of its stores in the market stating that, "They have reached a tentative agreement in terms of the grand trend of the times.". Basically, they are recognizing that the dog meat trade is an abomination and has garnered negative global attention that has shone a very poor light on the industry but also on the Asian utilization of dogs for consumption.

Through out the past few years, there have been repeated stories of farms shutting down after people from all over the globe have come and rescued dogs from these awful conditions and taken them back to their respective countries to get them treated and adopted out. There has also been repeated boycotts of the dog meat industry along with the negative global attention these dog meat festivals and frankly, the consumption of dogs period, has garnered these countries. Given all of this, it's no surprise that one of the largest producer of dogs for consumption has recognized this shift and decided to close 19 locations.

PERCEPTION

What this also shines a light on is how our perception of dogs and cats in Western countries as house pets versus how we see cattle, pigs, and chickens is so distorted. When we hear about dogs being eaten for food, it sickens us and sends shivers down our spine to think of a poor dog being caged up in deplorable conditions, burned alive, and eaten and yet we really don't turn a blind eye to the suffering that livestock endures everyday. Our perception of livestock as food allows us to disassociate the animal from the food which makes it easier for us to consume them but the reality is, these animals endure horrendous conditions and suffer the same way a dog or cat would under the same situations. If we allowed ourselves to recognize that any living animal goes through unimaginable horror leading up to its death, I think a lot more people out there would adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Pigs for example, are recognized as being some of the smartest animals in the world. They can solve puzzles, recognize their names, form relationships with people and other animals,and feel fear and emotion much like we do. Knowing this, we can still put them through unimaginable torture for the sake of bacon or sausages and yet we find it so difficult to imagine a dog or cat being put in that position. This is all because of how we are brought up and how ingrained in us it is that cats and dogs are pets while livestock is nothing more than food.

The same thing goes for these Asian countries who engage in dog and cat meat festivals and such. They are brought up believing that eating cats and dogs is totally normal so it's interesting to me that we are so outraged by this but have been brought up not to realize it's the exact same thing happening to the animals people here have chosen to eat.

Ultimately, all animals feel fear, that much is certain. We must celebrate the fact that this international attention has shone a negative light on the dog meat industry and they are now feeling the effects. We must celebrate this massive dog meat store closure and hope that it continues a trend of more and more of them closing. I think we also must recognize that there are so many problems here with how our animals are treated and work towards phasing out the factory farming industry for what it does to animals and our environment. 

HAPPY VEG