Kim Jong-Un Is Forcing Dog Owners to Give Up Pets. Owners Dread Their Fate

In a cruel turn of events, North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-Un has ordered a ban on pet ownership, because he believes it represents a ‘tainted’ trend by bourgeois ideology."

Pet owners are being forced to give up their dogs because they represent a Western cultural "decadence" but the owners feat the animals will end up being sold and eaten as food.

The dog confiscation is being ordered to start in the capital city of Pyongyang. “Ordinary people raise pigs and livestock on their porches, but high-ranking officials and the wealthy own pet dogs, which stoked some resentment’’ among the lower classes, a source familiar with the situation said.

Pet dogs are being forcibly taken from owners in the capital city, and their owners are expressing worry that they will be eaten as food. There are drastic food shortages in the country, leading to speculation the pet dogs will be sold to the dog meat trade, to be eaten at restaurants. The dog owners are “cursing Kim Jong Un behind his back,” but otherwise, their hands are tied, the source said.

There have been huge efforts from many countries around the world to ban the dog-meat trade and rescue animals across the globe. In South Korea, a US ally, dogs are still eaten as food in a centuries-old tradition, though young people and outsiders are trying to intervene to stop the practice. One estimate has 2.5 million dogs being rasied on dog farms each year in South Korea but USA Today recently reported that the number of dogs killed for food is actually closer to 1 million. Organizations in the US are mounting efforts to rescue the dogs from South Korea. However, COVID-19 has restricted travel and forced many of these organizations to pause their efforts.

“COVID-19 is devastating for humans but now it’s having a huge effect on dogs who have already suffered at the hands of the dog meat trade. Even if you’re not traveling from South Korea, you can still make a big difference for these dogs who need urgent help. Please consider sponsoring a stranded dog meat survivor.” - Fleur Dawes, Communications Director for In Defense of Animals

The Humane Society International, a Washington, D.C.-based organization advocates for animal protection worldwide. So if you want to support their efforts, visit their website