South Korea is winding down its dog meat industry, and the shutdown is running ahead of the government’s own timetable. Government figures reported by UPI show 1,339 of the country’s 1,537 registered dog meat breeding farms had closed as of Sept. 21, or about 87 percent, roughly 30 percent ahead of schedule.
The dogs are leaving too. When farms filed their closure plans in August 2024, operators reported raising about 468,000 dogs. Government figures now put the number still on those farms at around 7,600, a drop of more than 460,000 animals.
A nationwide ban on breeding, slaughtering, distributing and selling dogs for human consumption takes effect Feb. 7, 2027. That also ends the sale of bosintang, the traditional soup made with dog meat. Officials credit tiered compensation for the speed (farms that close earlier collect bigger payments) along with special inspections over the summer. Rescue groups have been moving dogs off closing farms to homes abroad.
What this means for your dog: nothing about your evening walk changes, and that is worth noticing. Rules like this arrive country by region by region, usually pushed along by public pressure and money on the table for people willing to change businesses. The Lucy’s Law rules that passed in Northern Ireland this month follow the same pattern.
If you have thought about adopting a dog from abroad, the ground rules have not changed. Ask for a full health and vaccination record, expect weeks of settling in rather than days, and read our piece on what keeps people from adopting before you commit.