South Korea’s Capital Officially Ends Dog Slaughter 

This week, the last three dog-meat shops in Seoul, South Korea pledged to no longer slaughter dogs on-premises. The move comes after a year-long campaign by Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to end the practice and is welcomed by animal-rights group Humane Society International (HSI) Korea—which has been working in South Korea since 2015 to end the dog-meat trade. “I am so happy to see Seoul’s last remaining dog meat shops end dog slaughter. Although these shops can still sell dog meat, it is nonetheless wonderful to see South Korea take one step further away from this dying industry that most Koreans want nothing to do with,” Nara Kim, dog meat campaign manager for HSI Korea, said. “It gives me hope that South Korea’s future is dog meat-free. HSI Korea will continue working with the government, and supporting farmers who no longer want to work in the dog meat trade, so that one day we will be able to celebrate the closure of South Korea’s final dog slaughterhouse.” With the help of HSI Korea, Gupo dog-meat market—one of South Korea’s largest dog-meat markets locations in Busan—closed its 19 stalls in July and is currently being transformed into a public park.