North Korea’s leader, Kim Jung-un has reportedly ordered his people to hand over their pet dogs so they can be turned into meat for restaurants.
The move, firstly is due to the current economic situation that badly hit by the pandemic which likely cause food shortage in the secretive country.
Secondly, high-ranking officials and the wealthy, who generally reside in the capital Pyongyang, own domesticated pets including dogs, which are seen by authorities a symbol of capitalist “decadence”, reported by NZ Herald.
In North Korea, ordinary people usually own pigs and other livestock.
Thus, started from July, Kim banned ownership of pet dogs, and said having a dog at home as “a tainted trend of bourgeois ideology”, a source told South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
“Authorities have identified households with pet dogs and are forcing them to give them up or forcefully confiscating them and putting them down,” the source added.
Dogs are either sent to state-run zoos or sold to dog meat restaurants. Dog meat has long been considered a delicacy in North Korea.
Pet owners are “cursing Kim Jong-un behind his back”, but there is little they can do, according to the source.