Largest Dog Meat Market in South Korea Shuts Down

Seoul, July 2, 2019: Humane Society International announced on Monday that Gupo, known to animal rights organizations as a “notorious” market, infamous for selling chilled dog meat as well as “live dogs killed to order”, had been shut down by South Korean authorities. As a result of the closure, over 80 dogs have been saved and are currently being cared for by numerous animal charities, including Humane Society International/Korea, Korean Animal Welfare Association, Korea Animal Rights Advocates and Busan Korean Alliance for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The news comes less than one month after HSI first announced the market would be shut down as the result of an agreement reached by the local Busan authorities and the 19 dog meat sellers operating out of the market.Once the dog meat market is closed, the government plans to turn the area into a public park as part of an urban planning project, which led to the negotiations for the market’s shutdown.

As reported by media, the latest closure represents another victory in the ongoing fight against the dog meat trade. South Korea’s Seongnam city demolished the country’s largest dog slaughterhouse in November 2018, and also “closed down most of the related dog meat vendors,” according to HSI. The organization went on to note that the latest closure is the first-ever “where complete agreement has been reached between the vendors and local authorities.”