Seoul, South Korea (CNN) South Korea has shut down its largest dog slaughterhouse in a move hailed by animal rights campaigners as a major blow against the country's canine meat trade.

Seongnam City council, Gyeonggi province, closed Taepyeong where hundreds of thousands of dogs were killed each year by electrocution before their remains were sold for meat, according to Humane Society International (HSI).

"We have been making constant efforts to shut down the Taepyeong-dong dog slaughterhouse through investigations and putting pressure on Gyeonggi province and Seongnam-si," said Hyunji Kim of Korea Animal Rights Advocates.

"As Korea's biggest, brutal, illegal dog slaughterhouse, Taepyeong-dong is notorious for supplying huge amounts of dog bodies to nearby Seongnam Moran traditional market," the activist added. "Its closure is an historical event, and hopefully may trigger the closure of other illegal dog slaughterhouses throughout the country."

A contraption at the now closed dog slaughterhouse.

South Korea is the only country in Asia where dogs are routinely and intensively farmed for human consumption. There are conflicting figures on the number of farmed dogs, slaughterhouses and markets across the country, but the HSI estimates around two million dogs are being kept in around 17,000 facilities.

Read More</s>Complex that housed several hundred animals at a time to be dismantled and turned into public park

South Korean officials on Thursday began to dismantle the country’s largest canine slaughterhouse complex, as animal rights activists push to end the custom of eating dog meat.

About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat—invariably boiled for tenderness—believed to increase energy. But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six dog slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major source for dog meat restaurants across the country. It will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.

Slaughterhouse operators reportedly used the site for decades without proper authorizations, and after a years-long legal battle a Seoul court ruled the city council could force out the businesses.

Animal rights campaigners slammed the operators for mistreating dogs and killing them cruelly—including electrocuting them before butchering them in the sight of other caged dogs.

Activists found electrocution equipment in the complex and a pile of dead dogs abandoned on the floor when they visited the site on Thursday, according to U.S. animal rights group Humane Society International. “This is a historic moment,” Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a blog post. “It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.”

According to a survey last year, 70 percent of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer—about 40 percent—believe the practice should be banned. It also found 65 percent support raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.

There are currently no laws on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat in South Korea. While farmers have urged Seoul to include dogs under livestock welfare regulations, animal rights groups oppose doing so, seeking complete abolition instead.</s>South Korea has shut down its largest dog meat slaughterhouse where animals were electrocuted in a 'landmark moment' for campaigners.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major provider for dog meat restaurants across the country.

It will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.

Dogs were electrocuted before being butchered in the sight of other caged animals at the complex, US campaign group Humane Society International (HSI) said.

Activists found electrocution equipment, a pile of dead dogs, blood-stained knives and a 'de-hairing machine' when they visited the site on Thursday.

HSI campaigner Nara Kim said from the scene: 'Both as a Korean citizen and an animal campaigner, it was incredibly moving for me to a part of the historic closure of this notorious dog slaughterhouse.

'I shudder to think how many millions of beautiful dogs will have met their horrific fate at this place over the years. It was a stain on the city of Seongnam and we are so pleased to see it bulldozed.

'This really feels like a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and sends the clear message that the dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society.'

'This is a historic moment,' Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a blog post.

'It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.'

About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat - invariably boiled for tenderness - believed to increase energy.

But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans.

According to a survey last year 70 percent of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer - about 40 per cent - believe the practice should be banned.

It also found 65 percent support raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.

There are currently no laws on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat in South Korea.

While farmers have urged Seoul to include dogs under livestock welfare regulations, animal rights groups oppose doing so, seeking complete abolition instead.</s>(CNN) - South Korea has shut down its largest dog slaughterhouse in a move hailed by animal rights campaigners as a major blow against the country's canine meat trade.

Seongnam City council, Gyeonggi province, closed Taepyeong where hundreds of thousands of dogs were killed each year by electrocution before their remains were sold for meat, according to Humane Society International (HSI).

"We have been making constant efforts to shut down the Taepyeong-dong dog slaughterhouse through investigations and putting pressure on Gyeonggi province and Seongnam-si," said Hyunji Kim of Korea Animal Rights Advocates.

"As Korea's biggest, brutal, illegal dog slaughterhouse, Taepyeong-dong is notorious for supplying huge amounts of dog bodies to nearby Seongnam Moran traditional market," the activist added. "Its closure is an historical event, and hopefully may trigger the closure of other illegal dog slaughterhouses throughout the country."

South Korea is the only country in Asia where dogs are routinely and intensively farmed for human consumption. There are conflicting figures on the number of farmed dogs, slaughterhouses and markets across the country, but the HSI estimates around two million dogs are being kept in around 17,000 facilities.

Taepyeong comprises six individual slaughterhouses, five of which will be bulldozed immediately. Permission to destroy the sixth building was not secured in time for the closure, but all its cages will be destroyed and equipment removed so that it is no longer operational, HSI said in a statement.

Built illegally, the decision to shut down the slaughterhouse was made in 2013 by the city council, which consulted with the abattoir, animal activist groups and local residents over its closure.

The council intends to build a community park on the land, the HSI statement said.

Activists reported seeing horrifying scenes at the slaughterhouse, including a pile of dead dogs abandoned on the floor, electrocution equipment, knives, and a de-hairing machine.

"I shudder to think how many millions of beautiful dogs will have met their horrific fate at this place over the years," Nara Kim, an HSI activist said. "It was a stain on the city of Seongnam and we are so pleased to see it bulldozed."

In addition to the slaughterhouses, the last remaining "bricks & mortar" vendor selling live dogs at Moran Market will also be closed.

Moran was once the largest dog meat market in South Korea, according to HSI, but recently the number of dog meat shops has decreased due to efforts by local authorities.

Although pop-up market stalls still sell dog meat at Moran, the closure of the final permanent vendor selling live dogs at the site "represents a major victory in dismantling the once infamous dog meat market," said HSI.

The closure of Taepyeong comes at a time when dog meat consumption is declining in South Korea, particularly among younger people.

A survey by Gallup Korea conducted in June 2018 shows that 70 percent of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in future, and a series of recent moves to curb the dog meat trade reflects a society increasingly ill at ease with the industry.

In April this year, a district court in Bucheon fined a farmer for unlawful animal slaughter, ruling that meat consumption was not a legal justification to kill dogs.

In August, Seoul City announced there will be no more dog slaughterhouses at Kyungdong Market in Dongdaemun from next year.

In the same month, operators of an illegal dog slaughterhouse were prosecuted for water pollution, and President Moon Jae-In's office pledged to consider removing dogs and cats from the legal definition of livestock.

Saying the government needed to consult before making a decision, a presidential secretary for agriculture and fishery, Choi Jae-kwan, quoted an independent 2018 survey which estimated that 51.5% of South Koreans are against the idea of banning dog meat while 39.7% think it should be banned.

However, government figures show increasing pet ownership in South Korea and a burgeoning pet industry. Ownership rose from 17.9% in 2012 to 28.1% in 2017, and the number of pet hair salons doubled from 2,015 in 2012 to 4,670 in 2016.</s>South Korean officials have begun dismantling the country’s largest canine slaughterhouse complex, as animal rights activists push to end the custom of eating dog meat.

About one million dogs are eaten each year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy. The greasy red meat is believed to increase energy.

But the tradition – much criticised by westerners – has declined as South Koreans have increasingly chosen to have dogs as pets, and eating dog meat is taboo among some younger South Koreans.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six dog slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major source of dog meat for restaurants across the country.

The site will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.

Animal rights campaigners criticised slaughterhouse managers for mistreating the dogs, and electrocuting and butchering them in sight of other caged dogs.

Activists found electrocution equipment in the complex and a pile of dead dogs abandoned on the floor when they visited the site on Thursday, according to the US animal rights group Humane Society International.

“This is a historic moment,” said the Korean Animal Rights Advocates (group in a blog post. “It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.”

According to a survey last year 70% of South Koreans do not eat dogs, but far fewer – about 40 % – believe the practice should be banned. It also found 65% support for raising and slaughtering dogs in more humane conditions.

There are currently no laws on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat in South Korea. While farmers have urged Seoul to include dogs under livestock welfare regulations, animal rights groups oppose doing so, seeking complete abolition instead.</s>The dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society, says HSI/Korea

MONTREAL, Nov. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Taepyeong, the largest dog slaughterhouse in South Korea, has been shut down by local authorities, bringing the country one step closer to ending its brutal dog meat trade.

Seongnam city council intends to build a community park on the land, creating a vibrant public space where once hundreds of thousands of dogs were slaughtered for human consumption.

HSI/Canada rescuers are on the scene and report that conditions inside the slaughterhouse are shocking. They found a large number of empty wire pens that would once have held hundreds of dogs, as well as knives and the electrocution equipment used to kill them. Piles of dead dogs were also found abandoned on the floor.

HSI/Canada senior campaign manager Ewa Demianowicz said: “It was deeply disturbing to see the inside of this slaughterhouse and to know that millions of dogs have died terribly here. It was a bleak, brutal facility, and a stark reminder of the unimaginable suffering caused by this industry. Thankfully, today’s events have brought us a giant step closer to ending the South Korean dog meat trade for good.”

HSI/Korea’s Nara Kim stated: “Both as a Korean citizen and an animal campaigner, it was incredibly moving for me to a part of the historic closure of this notorious dog slaughterhouse. I shudder to think how many millions of beautiful dogs will have met their horrific fate at this place over the years. It was a stain on the city of Seongnam and we are so pleased to see it bulldozed. This really feels like a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and sends the clear message that the dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society.”

Taepyeong comprises six individual slaughterhouses, five of which will be bulldozed immediately; permission to destroy the sixth building was not secured in time for the closure however all its cages will be destroyed and equipment removed so that it is no longer operational.

The closure of Taepyeong comes at a time when dog meat consumption is declining rapidly in South Korea, particularly among younger generations. A survey by Gallup Korea conducted in June 2018 Shows that 70 percent of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in future, and a series of recent moves to curb the dog meat trade reflects a society increasingly ill at ease with the industry. Most recently, last September, a Supreme Court struck down a lower court decision to allow dog electrocution (the favoured method of the dog meat trade), saying the method is “too cruel.”

Over the past four years, Humane Society International’s pioneering program of dog meat farm closures has shone a global spotlight on the plight of dogs in the South Korean dog meat trade. HSI works in partnership with dog farmers who want to leave the increasingly controversial business, helping them transition to more profitable and humane livelihoods. So far HSI has permanently closed 13 dog farms and rescued nearly 1,600 dogs, who are flown to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to find new homes.

Korea Animal Rights Advocates is an HSI/Korea partner group, and the two organisations recently teamed up to present a petition of nearly 1 million signatures to the President’s Blue House, calling for an end to the dog meat trade.

Hyunji Kim of Korea Animal Rights Advocates says: “We have been making constant efforts to shut down the Taepyeong-dong dog slaughterhouse through investigations and putting pressure on Gyeonggi province and Seongnam-si. As Korea’s biggest, brutal, illegal dog slaughterhouse, Taepyeong-dong is notorious for supplying huge amounts of dog bodies to nearby Seongnam Moran traditional market. Its closure is an historical event, and hopefully may trigger the closure of other illegal dog slaughterhouses throughout the country. Until we achieve this, we really appreciate the support of both Korean people and global citizens who love animals for helping our campaigns to completely end dog meat in Korea.”

Korea Animal Welfare Association has campaigned against the dog meat trade for many years. KAWA’s Iltaek Chae, says: “The slaughterers in Taepyeong have long been accumulating their wealth and a huge number of dogs have been killed over the years. It is hoped that the closure of this horrific dog slaughterhouse can halt the suffering of more dogs in the future, and help trigger the collapse of the dog meat industry in Korea.”

Download photos and video of the dog slaughterhouse closure and rescue by clicking here.

Humane Society International/Canada is a leading force for animal protection, with active programs in companion animals, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammal preservation, farm animal welfare and animals in research. HSI/Canada is proud to be a part of Humane Society International which, together with its partners, constitutes one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at www.hsicanada.ca</s>Officials in South Korea have started to dismantle the country’s largest dog slaughterhouse.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, will be cleared over two days and converted into a public park.

About one million dogs are consumed every year and activists have sought to end the custom.

Dog meat was once considered a delicacy in South Korea, but attitudes have changed in recent years.

“This is a historic moment,” Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a statement. “It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry.”

The Taepyeong-dong complex – an important source of meat for restaurants across the country – housed at least six slaughterhouses, holding several hundred animals at a time.</s>South Korean authorities have announced they have shut down the Taepyeong-dong complex, the country's largest dog slaughterhouse, following pressure from animal rights activists to end South Korea's custom of eating dog meat.

In a press release, Human Society International (HSI) announced the city council of Seongnam, where Taepyeong is located, intended to build a community park where the slaughterhouse once stood, "creating a fun public space where once hundreds of thousands of dogs a year were gathered from the country's thousands of dog meat farms to be killed by electrocution."

Taepyeong, which supplied dog meat to restaurants and markets throughout the country, is made of six individual slaughterhouses.

HSI said five of the six would be bulldozed immediately.

Authorities are also closing Moran Market, which they called "the last remaining bricks-and-mortar vendor selling live dogs".

HSI said activists who had toured the slaughterhouses witnessed "horrifying" conditions.

"They found a large number of empty wire pens that would once have held hundreds of dogs, as well as the electrocution equipment used to kill them, knives, and a de-hairing maching," HSI said.

There are no laws regarding how to treat or slaughter dogs in South Korea, and the abuse of dogs before their slaughter is widely thought to improve the flavour.

The slaughterhouse closure emphasises the decline in the consumption of dog meat in South Korea.

Organisations like HSI, Korea Animal Rights Advocates and the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA) have campaigned for years to end the tradition, and today, more South Koreans own dogs as pets.

A Gallup poll from June showed that 70 per cent of South Koreans did not eat dog meat, but only about 40 per cent believed the practice should be banned.

The poll also found 65 per cent support for raising and slaughtering dogs more humanely.

The BBC has reported that the number of dog meat restaurants has fallen. Seoul once had 1,500 restaurants selling dog meat, but the number had fallen to 700 by 2015.</s>Around one million dogs are said to be consumed in South Korea each year, with the meat seen as a delicacy, which is thought to have a high energy content. But following international condemnation of the practice, the practice of eating dog meat is gradually being frowned upon by young South Koreans too. On Thursday, the gargantuan Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam City, near Seoul – which houses at least six separate dog slaughterhouses that can hold several hundred animals at a time - is to be dismantled and cleared. After a lengthy legal battle, a Seoul court ruled that the city council could close down the business, leading to further abolition of the abhorrent practice.

Seongnam City officials said the complex is to be cleared over two days and will be transformed into a public park, following an uprising from animal rights activists in South Korea. The court battle saw activists accused the slaughterhouse of mistreating dogs and allowing cruel slaughter processes to go ahead. These practices reportedly included electrocuting dogs and butchering them in front of canine dogs that were still alive. But there are no laws in the Asian country on how to treat or slaughter canines for meat.

Farmers have urged the government to include the slaughtered dogs under livestock welfare regulations. But a growing contingent of activists are strongly opposed to dogs being slaughtered for food, and are looking to have the practice completely outlawed in the country. Activists from the US-based group Humane Society International, who gained entry to the complex on Thursday after the court hearing ruled it should be dismantled, found equipment used to administer electric shocks to the animals and a pile of dead dogs left to rot on the floor. Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) said in a statement: "It will open the door for more closures of dog meat slaughterhouses across the country, expediting the decline of the overall dog meat industry." Dog meat is consumed in some regions of China, South Korea, Nigeria and Vietnam.</s>South Korean officials on Thursday began to dismantle the country's largest canine slaughterhouse complex, as animal rights activists push to end the custom of eating dog meat.

About one million dogs are eaten a year in South Korea, often as a summertime delicacy with the greasy red meat - invariably boiled for tenderness - believed to increase energy.

But the tradition has earned criticism abroad and has declined as the nation increasingly embraces the idea of dogs as pets instead of livestock, with eating them now something of a taboo among young South Koreans.

The Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam city, south of Seoul, housed at least six dog slaughterhouses that could hold several hundred animals at a time, and was a major source for dog meat restaurants across the country.

It will be cleared over two days and transformed into a public park, Seongnam city officials said.
South Korea shuts down the country's largest dog meat slaughterhouse. The move is lauded by animal rights activists.