The Dog Eaters - Korea Sparkling Cuisine

Korea

Gaegogi literally means "dog meat" in Korean. Gaegogi, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, bosintang. The nureongi (누렁이) variety, which has a golden coat and differs from dogs raised as pets which Koreans may keep in their homes, is most often commercially raised for consumption, though a number of other breeds are also sold for food, including some commonly considered as pets.

Dogs have been consumed in Korea dating back to antiquity. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. One of the wall paintings in the Goguryeo tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse.

Dog meat is usually consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups. The most popular of these soups is gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the bodies heat during the summer months, this is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "ki" or vital energy of the body. A 19th century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with green onions and chili powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots. The dish is still popular in contemporary Korea during the summer months.

In 1988, during the Summer Olympic games, the government of South Korea closed all restaurants serving gaejang-guk to better improve the countries image to western culture visitors. Brigitte Bardot, a prominent head of a French animal rights organization which is named after her, launched a crusade during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Seoul, Korea, to have dog meat outlawed in Korea. She promoted people to boycott the games in the government did not outlaw the sale of dog meat in restaurants in Seoul. This concept seemed out of place to those people in Southern China, Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America where dog meat is seen as an affordable meat source, especially in China where records of dog consumption date back to 500 B.C. where recipes of dog dishes were listed in the Li Ji for ritual consumption. In 1995 organizers of the largest dog show in England decided to not accept the sponsorship of Samsung, the Korean based electronics company when the International Fund for Animal Welfare claimed that two million dogs were processed for food in Korea annually.

As of 2003, approximately 4,000-6,000 restaurants served soups made from dog meat in Korea. The soups cost about US$10 while dishes of steamed dog meat with rice cost about US$25. Although technically illegal to sell dog meat in Korea, restaurateurs still do so even though they risk losing their restaurant licenses. In 1997 one dog meat wholesaler in Seoul was brought up on charges of selling dog meat illegally, but was later acquitted by the court which ruled that dog meat was a socially accepted food.

Sometimes the dogs killed for consumption are first tortured, in order to increase the "fight" or adrenaline in the meat. A dog that dies painfully is believed to have softer meat, and impart the energy of its death to the consumer. Methods of inflicting painful death include slow hanging and beating. In recent years some people have changed their attitude towards eating dog meat from 'personal choice 'to 'unnecessary cruelty'. Animal rights activists in South Korea have protested against the custom of eating dog meat.

There are several dishes made with dog meat as a primary ingredient such as bosintang or called gaejangguk, gaesuyuk and gaesoju. Bosintang is a soup or stew-like dish seasoned with garlic and perilla leaves, while gaesuyuk is a boiled dog meat. Gaesoju is a fermented drink that is distilled by cooking the dog in a double boiler.

Korea's Animal Protection Law (2007)

http://www.koreananimals.org/animals/apl/2007apl.htm



Philippines-

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. More generally, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles except in the following instances:

1. When it is done as part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or a ritual required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities; however, leaders shall keep records in cooperation with the Committee on Animal Welfare;
2. When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;
3. When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the animal as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;
4. When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being;
5. When done for the purpose of animal population control;
6. When the animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments; and
7. Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and certified by a licensed veterinarian.

Nevertheless, as is reported from time to time in Philippine newspapers, the eating of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines.

DogMeatTrade.com,an organization working in the Philippines to eliminate the eating of dogs in the country, estimates that 500,000 dogs are killed annually in the Philippine Islands for human consumption.

In the Province of Benguet, Resolution 05-392 has been passed declaring, among other things, "it has been an evolved cultural practice of indigenous peoples of the Cordillera the butchering of animals, dogs included, as part of their rituals and practices leading to its commercialization to a limited extent, and had become an inevitable common necessity in their way of life"; and resolving, among other things, "to seek the help and assistance of the Committee on Animal Welfare, Department of Agriculture, the Regional Police Office, Cordillera Administrative Region, the Provincial Police Office, Benguet Province, for the proper observance of the said rights of indigenous peoples"

Philippine Animal Welfare Act of 1998
http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8485.htm