Seoul, Nov 26th : , South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo Kyum stated that the government will create a civil-led consultative body to reach a social consensus about whether to ban dog meat consumption. Kim made these remarks as he presided over a meeting of government policy coordination on Thursday.
He stated that relevant ministries should actively work to determine the facts surrounding the controversial practice and weigh different opinions, Yonhap News Agency reports.
The Prime Minister stated that they would form a joint private-government consultative group led by civilians to produce a social consensus.
He said, “The controversy about dog meat consumption is not a new issue and has persisted since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.”
“With the sharp rise in pet ownership and the growing public interest in animal welfare and rights, we are seeing increasing calls to stop dog meat consumption being considered an old food culture.”
Kim’s office says that the envisioned body will be launched next month and will include 20 experts, civic activists, and government officials.They will hold in-depth discussions about the matter by April next Year, Kim’s office said.
It also stated that the government plans to create a separate, vice ministerial-level entity responsible for devising action plans and proactive collecting opinions from relevant parties.
Thursday’s meeting was called after Moon Jae-in, President of Korea, raised the need to “carefully consider banning dog meat consumption” in September’s meeting with Kim.
Animal rights activists have condemned this practice as cruel, while others argue that people should have the right to choose what they eat.
A Realmeter survey found that 48.9% of respondents opposed banning dog meat consumption.Only 38.6% supported it.
The Animal Protection Law of South Korea aims to prevent cruel killings of dogs and cats.However, it does not prohibit the consumption of dog meat.
ksk/ #Korea #establish #consultative #meat
.
