Dogfight

Comedian Frank Skinner, on his recent TV programme Kimonos for Goalposts, saw it as a chance to revenge himself for a lifetime of scraping dog dirt from his shoes. Others see it as a cruel and disgusting practice that will sully the good name of the World Cup.

Whichever side you're on, it's hard to ignore the custom of killing and eating man's best friend. And as Skinner proved when he tucked into a plate of fried canine on ITV earlier this month, the restaurant business is thriving in South Korea.

Despite international opprobrium, demand remains high for this national delicacy served up regularly in an estimated 6,000 dogmeat restaurants nationwide. Officially, the trade is illegal after the government deemed dogmeat a "disgusting food" and withdrew it as a lawful consumable in 1984. The Korean Animal Protection Law of 1991 went on to outlaw cruelty to all animals, yet many argue that the legislation, never enforced, has done little except push the thriving business underground.

Dubbed Doctor Dogmeat, An Yong-Geun is a food science professor who boasts 350 canine recipes and a development strategy for the dogmeat industry. He says it is time for the Korean government to act and legalise dog slaughter and consumption.

"The federal government should allow nationals to slaughter dog and eat it by law," he says. "Regulate the whole process, ranging from breeding to slaughtering, processing and distribution. Regrettably, the federal government hasn't made any decision on it up to now. It is because the government is being pulled in opposing directions with the animal rights activists on one side and the dogmeat consumers on the other."

With restaurants working in this twilight zone, credible allegations of cruelty to animals are regularly made, particularly outside the big cities. Counterclaims from the dogmeat industry that it kills humanely are impossible to substantiate, as dogmeat should not be technically available and authorities have yet to intervene in the illegal trade.

Countless backstreet eateries, getting round the ban on dogmeat meals by advertising it euphemistically as "healthy stew", could be guilty of perpetuating cruelty to animals. Upmarket outlets defend themselves as purveyors of meat from humanely kept and dispatched dogs, specially bred for the trade, but have a huge uphill struggle to convince animal lovers that this is the case.

Animal activists have enlisted the support of some England World Cup players. And although outsiders could be accused of being ignorant of some facts, such criticism has stung the Korean government into action. It has announced that the ban on dog restaurants around all World Cup venues will be enforced.

England footballers including Michael Owen have urged South Korea to end what they believe is the widespread torture of cats and dogs in Korea. They have signed an animal rights petition which "implored the host country of this year's World Cup to put an end to the hanging, beating, burning and boiling alive of dogs and cats before they are slaughtered and eaten".

These alleged practices are proscribed ways of tenderising the meat. According to the lore surrounding dogmeat, a rush of adrenalin before death is the desired goal. Animal activists, such as Steven Wilkinson of International Aid for Korean Animals, also decry the conditions under which about one million dogs specially bred for consumption are kept and sold every year in Korea. The organisation claims to have video evidence of dogs being maltreated.

He says: "They are kept in cramped, welded wire cages, then taken out, tied to a tree and beaten with pipes, hammers and so forth. Dogs and cats were taken off the livestock list when they were classed as ‘disgusting food', while the cruelty to animals law passed in 1991 has never been enforced."

He also points out that the whole purpose of eating dogmeat is to enjoy the mythical and unproven health benefits. Dogmeat stew is viewed by some as an aphrodisiac, although there is no scientific evidence to support this.

The dish Wilkinson is referring to is poshintang, literally "body preservation stew", which, although not as popular as the ubiquitous beef barbecue in Korea, is a summer favourite when temperatures soar and Koreans are in need of a high-protein pick-me-up.

One company behind a chain of dogmeat restaurants, China Trading, estimates there are now about 20,000 dogmeat restaurants throughout the country, while more conservative estimates put it at 6,000. One thing is certain, however: during the summer season dogmeat is a very profitable addition to the menu. According to China Trading, one restaurant can rack up sales of 10 million won (£5,564) a day during the peak dog-eating season between April and July.

Now the industry fears that international disapproval during the World Cup will have a negative effect on business. The Korean Association of Dogmeat Restaurants, set up earlier this year to provide a united front against protesters, critics and the government, believes racism and misguided cultural relativism are behind the anti-dogmeat protests.

"Our dog-eating practice has always become an issue of concern ahead of international events, dealing a severe blow to the thousands of dogmeat restaurant owners in the country," says Choi Han-kwon, the main organiser of the association.

The association denies allegations that dogs are tortured before slaughter in South Korea and says it supports humane methods of slaughter. It also stresses that only a minority in the country believe the cruel dispatching of dogs makes the meat tastier and says most people simply enjoy the taste.

But despite these claims, many restaurant owners remain media-shy and reluctant to go on the record. One restaurateur, however, anxious to tell his story, is Sang-Il Nam, owner of five dogmeat restaurants, including the Halme Kamasot Boshintang in Seoul. Each day the restaurant uses 150kg of dogmeat and does 300 covers. He defends the eating of dogmeat as part of Korea's historical heritage.

"Eating dogmeat is Korea's own inherent food culture, which has a long history. We have no shame about eating humanely killed dogs just as some countries have no shame about eating horses. I feel there are double standards acting in the West," he says. The Halme outlet has a turnover equivalent to £1,500 a day during the dog-eating season. He says the animals are humanely dispatched with a 400V charge before they are butchered.

He says: "I want people to understand we kill humanely. It's an integral part of Korean culture. Serving dogmeat might be illegal but everyone eats it. The government should move to make it legal and ignore pressure from powerful, rich Western governments and organisations. We are a poor country and we have a weak government under pressure from outside. Whatever happens, we will continue to eat dogmeat, no matter."

Menu from the Renoir restaurant, Seoul, South Korea

Poshintang (dogmeat stew)

Braised dogmeat cutlets with thin soy paste, green onion, leek and taro stalk, served with kimchi, fresh peppers and cucumbers

Jeongol (boiled dogmeat mixed with spices and vegetables on rice)

Braised dogmeat and dropwort, perilla leaves, green onion and garlic, pepper, and red pepper, served on bed of rice

Duruchigi (grilled dogmeat). Marinated in spices and soy sauce, the meat is barbecued by the customer on a hot plate. Accompanied with dipping sauce, vegetables and kimchi.

Contact

International Aid for Korean Animals,PO Box 20600, Oakland, California 94620-0600, USA
Tel: 00 1 510 271 6795
Web site:www.koreananimals.org

Illegal, but nearly everyone's tried it

About three million of South Korea's 47 million population are believed to eat dogmeat and about 92% of adult men and 68% of adult women have tasted it, according to a recent survey.

The practice is thought to have started in China and was imported into Korea along with other exotic foreign delicacies. Now the dogmeat is viewed as an expensive treat but as its legality is a grey area it is not known how many restaurants in Korea serve it.