Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs "87% of dog breeding farms closed... 7,600 breeding dogs remaining"

Check whether re-breeding, etc. by December… Prepare a plan to protect remaining dogs

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Se-rin = The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 11th that as a result of calculating the status of closure of dog breeding farms ahead of the complete ban on dog eating in February next year, 1,339, or 87%, of 1,537 dog breeding farms nationwide were closed as of the 21st of last month.

This is about 30% more than the originally planned cumulative closure of 1,030 farms.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs believes that differential payment of subsidies to farms that close early and special inspections in the summer have accelerated the closure.

The size of breeding has also decreased significantly. When farmers submitted their business closure implementation plans in August 2024, the number of reported breeding dogs was 468,000, but the number of dogs currently remaining was calculated to be about 7,600.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to conduct special winter inspections on all dog breeding farms from next month to December to check whether closed farms are rebreeding and the status of closure of non-closed farms.

In addition, in order to protect dogs left behind due to owners relinquishing ownership, a protection and management plan is prepared that takes into account breed, size, age, social skills, etc.

This is because the breeding, propagation, slaughter, distribution, and sale of dogs for human consumption will be completely banned from February 7 of next year in accordance with the Dog Meat Breeds Act.

Lee Yong-jik, director of the Animal Welfare Policy Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, “We will manage the closure of the remaining farms without a hitch and thoroughly prepare for any remaining dog problems that may arise after the closure.”