Dogs are known as man’s best friend. With the dogs’ loyalty and his owners’ care, they have developed close ties.
Consider Hachiko, the popular Japanese dog who, in the 1920s, would wait every day for his owner at Shibuya train station.
However, his owner did not return from work, having died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1925. But Hachiko would still return to the same spot to wait for his owner every day for the next more than nine years until his death in 1935.
Hachiko became a symbol of loyalty that earned him a statue at Shibuya Station for his memory.
There are many who are like Hachiko that besides being loyal, provide benefits to their owners—as health companion, guide, protector against aggressors, and many others.
In recent years, more dogs have become part of their owners’ lives, considered as “children” or member of the family. They are no longer the ordinary “bantay,” or guard dogs with neck collar, caged and detached from their owners.
But many of these man’s best friend still suffer from abuse and violence—neglect, beaten, wounded, and worse, slaughtered for their meat.
The rise of animal rights movements have resulted in the banning of the killing, trading and eating of dog meat in several countries–such as in Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
On January 9, South Korea was included on the list, when its parliament passed a landmark bill that will ban slaughtering, breeding, and selling of dog meat for human consumption starting 2027. After which, violation will be punishable by two to three years in prison.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted the legislation as saying that “it is aimed at contributing to realizing the values of animal rights, which pursue respect for life and a harmonious co-existence between humans and animals.”
It also aims to protect South Korea’s international image. The country’s dog meat industry has drawn attention because of the country’s reputation as a cultural and economic power.
South Korea is the only nation with industrial-scale dog farms—from about 500 dogs, to one with about 7,000, AP said.
In South Korea, eating dog meat is neither explicitly legal nor illegal.
Traditional source of protein
Making the bill controversial is that dog meat consumption is a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula. In some Asian countries, including some parts of the Philippines, dog meat is a traditional source of protein.
The dog meat trade is most widespread in other Asian countries, such as China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and in northern India.
While the AP reported that recent surveys show more than half of South Koreans want dog meat banned and a majority no longer eat it, one in every three South Koreans still oppose a ban even though they are not consuming dog meat.
Once signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose government supports the ban, the measure will become a law. Some reports say Yoon has six dogs.
Conflicting views
International animal rights groups, such as the Humane Society International, called the South Korean legislation’s passage “history in the making.”
However, this early, the measure did not sit well with some dog farmers who vowed to oppose it and appeal to the government, calling it “state violence.”
The news report said there is no reliable official data on the size of the dog meat industry in South Korea, while the measure is not clear on how the dog-farm owners and others who will be affected by the law will be supported by the government.
Domesticated animal
In the wild, dogs and their bigger cousins, such as the wolves, are among the fiercest predators.
Scientists say the dog is a domesticated descendant of the wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog’s nearest living relative.
The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Early humans work with dogs in hunting, tracking, watching, protecting and guarding their tribe or community against threats.
Modern-day humans have learned to train dogs to help in the farm. Working dogs are used as herders and guardians of sheep, goats, and cattle.
Some are trained to do chores no other animal on the farm can perform, like pulling the cart to carry milk, firewood, hay, or harvested crops.
Today, dogs are trained for multiple purposes—such as sniffing for drugs, bombs, guns, and ammunition.
In health care, they are used to provide company for human’s emotional stability when they are sick, sad or lonely.This benefits humans by helping reduce the risk of schizophrenia and improve cardiovascular health, according to the Big Think website.
Breeding dogs
The huge demand for animal companions that are cute, smart, funny and loyal saw the birth of dog breeders, who find their hobby financially rewarding in most cases.
A pitbull, for instance, which is sometimes used as fighting dog, is sold from P30,000 to P50,000. An American bulldog, which is more bulky than the pitbull, commands an equal, if not higher price.
Other big dogs are also in demand, like the German shepherd, Belgian malinois, Siberian Husky, Wolf dog, Rottweiler and Doberman.
Family member
Dog lovers today consider their pets as children, or fur-babies, while dog lovers call themselves fur-parents, thus levelling up the man-dog relationship into a family.
Small dogs or toy dogs may not be as pricy as the bigger ones but they are getting so much attention from their fur parents who bring them to malls in a cart, buy them clothes, and make them wear undies.
Many fur parents even bring their small dogs to dog nail and hair salons regularly, that also led to the boom of these pet establishments, same with veterinary clinics and dog clothes and accessories stores.
Philippine groups support Sokor move
While there are dog lovers, there are also abusers who put them down for being noisy, letting them go astray, or worse, slaughtering them to escape the responsibility, or for their meat.
Animal rights groups in the Philippines expressed approval of the move of the South Korean parliament in passing the dog-meat ban measure.
Jana Sevilla, senior campaigner at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said on January 10 that the development in South Korea is a significant step forward for animal protection.
“PETA hopes that the three-year grace period [for the South Korean law] can be shortened to promptly implement the comprehensive protection for dogs,” Sevilla told the BusinessMirror via email.
Philippine 2 laws vs dog meat
According to Sevilla, in the Philippines, despite the ban on dog meat under 2007 Republic Act (RA) 9482, or the Anti-rabies Act, illicit dog meat traders persist and are being apprehended.
“While PETA appreciates these efforts, it’s crucial to recognize that all animals in the food industry are suffering. PETA encourages those who love cats and dogs to extend their compassion to include chickens, pigs and cows. Embracing a vegan lifestyle is the most compassionate way to live,” she said, as she also pointed out PETA’s call for a no-meat diet.
As for the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), it said the passage of the ban on dog meat trade in South Korea is a “welcome development.”
The group said the Philippines already bans the dog meat trade, through the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, or RA 8485. It was signed into law on February 11, 1998.
Unfortunately, enforcement of the law remains wanting, said Sharon Bengzon-Yap, Education and Campaigns Officer at PAWS.
“We already have the Animal Welfare Act. The problem is the implementation. It is more focused on education and information because there are still a lot of violators. Sadly, the Act is not being seriously implemented,” Bengzon-Yap told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on January 10.
“When you report animal cruelty to the police or the barangays, they don’t do anything about it,” she said.
PAWS has been pushing for the strict enforcement of the law to stop animal cruelty in the country.
Rampant violation
For her part, Anna Cabrera, PAWS executive director, noted that dog meat is still being sold at grocery stores in South Korea as the bill is not yet a law, unlike in the Philippines where it is already a law.
PAWS was one of the staunch advocates that led to the passage of the Animal Welfare Act in the Philippines.
The dog-meat trade is already illegal in the Philippines, Cabera said, and it is a matter of enforcing the law strictly.
Pointing out the presence of the law in the country, she said: “In the Philippines, if you consume dog meat, you’ll be violating the law. In South Korea, it is not yet illegal [until it becomes law and implemented in 2027],” she said.
According to Cabrera, like any other law, the Animal Welfare Act is being violated, likening it to jaywalking, which is rampantly being violated by pedestrians.
A century behind
However, she said the fact that there is a law, it somehow helps fight animal cruelty in the Philippines.
Still, the Philippines is a century behind other countries, which have passed animal welfare Acts or similar laws that protect the rights of animals since the 1800s, like the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Well, we have taken out dog meat from our plate but it doesn’t mean we are already [animal friendly],” Cabrera said.
“There are many forms of animal cruelty,” she said, citing the way animals like chicken, swine and cattle are being slaughtered for their meat, thus, she also called for veganism, or strictly no-meat diet.
According to Cabrera, the Bureau of Animal Industry should be more strict in enforcing the dog-meat ban in the Philippines, particularly in some areas in Northern Luzon, where dogs are still being slaughtered for their meat, albeit discreetly, making the law against animal cruelty in vain.
Image credits: Bernard Testa, AP/Ahn Young-joon