Dog meat consumption, a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula, isn’t explicitly prohibited or legalized in South Korea

  • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I haven’t met anyone below sixty who eats dog meat. Even if it doesn’t get banned, I’m sure the practice will die out within one generation. It’s definitely getting rarer and rarer.

    It’s sad that a fringe, outdated practice reflects poorly on the whole country. Most Koreans love dogs and they’re as horrified by the practice as Westerners are.

    • Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      I don’t get what’s so horrifying about eating dogs that wouldn’t be just as horrifying when applied to other animals. Why can’t we love other animals just as much as we love dogs?

      • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        I agree with you on principle. However, it shouldn’t surprise you that people draw a distinction since dogs are often pets and people develop strong emotional bonds with them, whereas very few people have interacted with pigs or cows.

        • Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          It doesn’t surprise me, but it does disappoint me. You’d think people would apply the logic they use for dogs to other animals as well, or at least see the hypocrisy.

          • RGB3x3@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            I am truly and honestly trying to wrap my head around why I feel (as a meat eater) that cows and chickens are okay to eat, but not dogs or cats. For me, I think It’s part social conditioning, part perceived intelligence of the animals, part eating habits of the animals themselves (dogs and cats are predators, cows and chickens are prey; pretty consistently, humans will eat the animals that don’t eat meat).

            As with very many things in humans, the logic doesn’t match the emotional decision. I personally don’t think there is anything morally wrong with eating meat and I understand that if I’m okay with eating cows, I should also be okay with people eating dogs. But I just can’t seem to change that opinion.

            What I absolutely can’t support is the mistreatment of animals in farming. At the very least, we can respect their lives and respect the things they provide us when we kill them.

            • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              I’ve worked with pigs on an organic farm, and I’m convinced that if people in general spent any amount of time with a happy, relaxed pig, they’d swear off pork altogether. Pigs are extremely smart and sociable, and even have a sense of humor.

              That being said, I’m with you, it’s the unnecessary suffering that I can’t abide. And it’s not even a matter of intelligence; chickens are pretty dumb (though they’re a lot smarter than people credit them for), and I wouldn’t want to see one suffer either. They’re sensitive animals all the same, as any basic interaction quickly illustrates. The idea that it’s fine to torment an animal because they’re dumb is borderline inhuman to me.

            • Dark_Blade@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              i respect your ability to self-reflect and assess yourself rationally and logically. It’s fine to feel the way you do, as long as you’re aware that your choices may not be rooted in inherent rationality or morality of an action.

    • Kbobabob@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Most Koreans love dogs and they’re as horrified by the practice as Westerners are.

      Do you have a source for this?