Please be warned that this is an extremely upsetting article! I still feel sick to my stomach just entering this blog post. If anyone knows of an online petition to sign to protest this slimy business, please bark it in!

Thanks to Karen, Roxie’s furmom, for barking in this article from english.chosun.com.

Netizens in Uproar Over Online Dog Meat Seller

Controversy has arisen over an online dog meat retailer. According to the city of Sungnam on Tuesday, written protests and appeals have been flooding the city’s Internet message board since the online meat shop opened in April. Dozens of posts to the city’s message board demand to know why authorities are turning a blind eye to the illegal sale of dog meat and urge the city to shut down the site.

The retailer, which is based in Sungnam’s Moran Market, home to Korea’s largest market for edible dog meat, sells “premium” and “standard” dog meat on the Internet. It features photos of the meat as well as cooking ideas and suggestions for spices and vegetables that go well with dog.

The website of online canine meat store Boshin.com. (Joy note –I am not including the link to this store since I do now want to encourage any sales.)

“I opened the site after two years of preparation because I figured a lot people want to cook dog meat at home,” said Ko Se-hoon, the 25-year-old operator of e-bosin.com. The online dog meat market was virtually untapped, he added.

Netizens have engaged in a heated debate over eating dog meat on the website’s message board. Many proponents say dog meat is a traditional food and claim there’s no difference between eating dogs and eating cows and pigs. Opponents say eating dog is cruel to animals and harmful to Korea’s international reputation.

The city of Sungnam said the operator set up the shop by the book. “When we accepted the online sales application from Ko, the name of the shop, the location of the server and the categories of sales item were all clear. Ko also applied with a certificate to do business, so we approved the online shop according to e-commerce laws. However there are no rules about dog meat in the law, so we have handed the issue over to the Fair Trade Commission,” the city said.

Keum Seon-ran, president of the Korea Animal Protection Society, said, “According to food sanitation law, dogs and cats are not among the animals that can be cooked. The sale of dog meat is illegal. However, the law has never been upheld since many former presidents enjoyed eating dog meat.”

An official with the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “Under the food sanitation law, animals that are not examined according to livestock processing regulations are not allowed to be sold as food, and dogs are not counted as livestock. However, we do not take strong measures to regulate the practice since we have a tradition and culture of eating dog meat and many people enjoy it.”