 People walk past a dog meat restaurant in central Seoul, Thursday, a day after Seoul City started sanitation inspection of dog meat restaurants. / Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Staff Reporter
Disputes over eating dog meat often get fiercer with the sweltering summer heat. Seoul City's recent announcement to launch sanitation inspections of dog meat restaurants has triggered a fresh round of debate over ``bosintang,'' or dog meat.
City officials say the inspection does not mean that it acknowledges dog meat dishes as food. But the inspection, the first in about 20 years, can be seen as an attempt to allow the sale of dog meat. Currently, dogs are not categorized as livestock requiring inspection.
A team of inspectors from the city government Wednesday raided restaurants in northern Seoul, which specialize in so-called invigorating food such as bosintang, or dog meat soup, and samgyetang, or chicken broth.
``It is necessary to check hygiene conditions of restaurants that serve bostintang and samgyetang in the season when consumption of such dishes is at its peak,'' said Oh Jae-hyo, an official from the food safety division of Seoul Metropolitan Government. ``Diners may have dishes cooked in unsanitary conditions.''
They checked the storage of ingredients and hygiene conditions of kitchen facilities. They also took samples of dog meat and chicken for investigation of harmful substances.
But it only seems to convey symbolic warning to restaurant owners as the team of three inspectors along with one supervisor from a civic group checked only 30 randomly-chosen restaurants during the four-day inspection.
``We have only limited manpower, which does not allow us to properly regulate restaurants and monitor their sanitation conditions,'' Oh said. ``But we will continue the inspection later.''
However, restaurant owners were perplexed by the sudden visit since it was first inspection of dog meat restaurants since 1988, when the country was preparing for the Seoul Olympic Games.
They feared that the inspection might cause severe damage to their business in the peak season.
``We have been in bad business and it worries me that the inspection will keep our guests from dining here,'' the owner of restaurant Ssarigol said. ``We do our best to serve delicious and safe dishes.''
Right to Eat?
Dog meat eaters claim they have just as much right to eat dog meat as people who eat beef or chicken and that inspection of restaurants is necessary to help them enjoy quality dishes.
But they also argue that such inspections should not be abused to regulate the trade of dog meat and violate their right to eat it.
``We couldn't agree more on the necessity of the inspection,'' said a man eating bosintang at a restaurant. ``But we feel bad about eating dog meat when we see inspectors around the restaurant. It should be done in a quieter manner.''
But dog lovers and animal rights organizations denounced the inspection, citing it could be the first step in legalizing the sale of dog meat. The city government had previously proposed categorizing dogs as livestock but delayed the move after facing criticism from the organizations.
``It doesn't directly mean the legalization of the dog meat trade but the inspection itself seems to be a step towards legalization,'' Jun Kyung-ok, director of the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, said, further calling it a ``disgusting dish'' and hoping it would be banned.
While authorities have been in a dilemma regarding the ongoing dispute between those who are for and against the consumption of dog meat, restaurant owners have been long free from hygiene inspections, which in turn put dog meat eaters in danger.
One of the four restaurants that the inspectors visited Wednesday showed terrible hygiene conditions, with cockroaches around the kitchen. As the owner violated the Food Hygiene Law, she will face legal punishment.
But if dog meat at her restaurant is contaminated or contains harmful substances, she will not be liable for any legal punishment due to the lack of related law.
``We bought dog meat at Moran Market. But we don't know how the dog meat is prepared,'' Kang Kwang-sook, owner of Golmoksacheoltang, said. ``But there has been nobody who has had a problem after eating our dishes.''
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
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