Dogs will no longer be butchered in South Korea’s capital city after the final processing plant closed.
On Saturday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced that the final dog slaughterhouse had shut down.
“Through persuasion for many years, we stopped all slaughter in Seoul,” he explained. “We will maintain the city as a slaughter-free place to promote the dignity of animal coexistence.”
The mayor promised to combat the development of any new dog meat factories in the future, saying, “If Seoul slaughter activity occurs again, we will use all means to block it.”
Park’s announcement took place at Namsan Park, where animal rights activists held a celebration. The mayor had promised in February to take an active role in shutting down the dog meat trade in the city.
Eight dog meat processing facilities had closed in Gyeongdong Market and Jungang Market prior to Park’s announcement. The final three plants will be finished by the end of the month.
As a country, South Korea has taken steps to end dog meat consumption. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been a leader on the issue, even adopting a dog rescued from a dog meat factory in 2017.
A bill introduced in June to ban dog meat consumption has still not passed through the country’s legislature despite Moon’s support.
