South Korea Is Closing Its Dog Meat Farms. But What Happened to the Dogs?

87% of South Korea’s dog meat farms have closed ahead of a February 2027 ban. But behind the encouraging figures is a more difficult story about the dogs themselves.

South Korea is shutting down its dog meat farms, and faster than the government expected. Of the 1,537 farms registered when the closure programme began, 1,339 have now closed. From February 2027, breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for meat will be illegal.

It’s an enormous change for a country where dogs have been raised for meat for generations. But the numbers for the dogs tell a different story.

Government figures examined by the Korea JoongAng Daily looked at almost 394,000 dogs on farms that had closed by the end of 2025. For every 1,000 of those dogs, about three were adopted or taken into a public shelter. Around 97 in every 100 were recorded as shipped out, a category the newspaper describes as covering sale for slaughter or distribution.

So while the farms are disappearing, relatively few of the dogs recorded in those figures have found their way into rescue care.

What was South Korea’s dog meat trade?

Dog meat has a long history in Korea. One traditional dish, bosintang, is a soup that was often eaten during the hottest days of summer, when it was believed to help restore strength. Dogs raised for meat were kept on farms, sometimes in large numbers, before being sold to slaughter businesses and eventually reaching restaurants.

The dogs themselves weren’t necessarily so different from those we share our homes with. Nureongi, a yellow-coated Korean dog type, and large Tosa-type dogs have been associated with the trade, but rescuers have also found Jindo mixes and even a golden retriever. Animal welfare investigations have documented dogs living in small cages, with little room to move or experience life beyond the farm.

Over time, South Korea’s relationship with dogs has changed considerably. A Gallup Korea survey in 2022 found that 64% of people opposed eating dog meat, while just 8% said they had eaten it in the previous year, compared with 27% in 2015. Much of the pressure to end the trade has come from South Korean animal welfare organisations and campaigners, who have spent years pushing for change.

In January 2024, lawmakers voted to bring the commercial industry to an end, giving farmers and other businesses three years to close or find another way to make a living. The ban takes full effect on 7 February 2027. Eating dog meat itself won’t be a criminal offence, but breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for that purpose will be.

Why haven’t more dogs been rescued?

Under South Korean law, dogs on meat farms belong to the farmers who keep them. The government cannot simply remove them when a farm closes, and farmers must empty their premises before receiving financial support for shutting down. That has created an enormous practical challenge: where could hundreds of thousands of dogs go?

The president of the Korean Association of Edible Dogs told the Korea JoongAng Daily that neither the government nor animal welfare organisations had the money or facilities to care for so many animals. In his view, this helps explain why dogs continued to be sold through the trade as farms closed. The law does include arrangements to protect dogs whose owners give them up, but it doesn’t guarantee rescue for every animal.

Rehoming can bring its own difficulties. Dogs that have spent their lives in cages may need time and patient care to adjust to unfamiliar people, sounds and household routines. Tosa-type dogs and their crosses also face additional ownership requirements in South Korea, including permits and temperament assessments, which can make finding homes more complicated.

Daniel Henney with Juliette, rescued from a dog meat farm in 2020. Photo: Humane World for Animals.

The dogs who were given another chance

Actor Daniel Henney knows what it means for a dog to leave the meat trade behind. His golden retriever, Juliette, was rescued from a South Korean dog meat farm in 2020 and later became part of his family.

In May 2025, Henney joined Humane World for Animals on a rescue mission at a farm in Cheongju, where 67 dogs were being removed. According to the charity, the farm had operated for around 40 years before local authorities closed it following animal cruelty violations. Henney helped rescuers bring frightened dogs out of their cages, some for the first time.

“As a huge dog lover, and dad to a dog meat farm survivor, it was incredibly challenging to see the suffering of these dogs who have endured so much,” he said in a statement released by Humane World.

The charity subsequently arranged for 50 of the dogs to travel to its rehabilitation facility in Maryland, in the United States, while others went on to Canada. Some have since been adopted by families, beginning new lives with names including Friend, Peach and Kiwi.

Stories like these show what is possible when dogs are given the care and time they need. But organised rescues on this scale remain unusual, and the government figures show just how few dogs from closed farms have entered adoption or public shelter care.

What happens now?

As of September 2026, around 7,600 dogs were estimated to remain on registered farms, down from approximately 468,000 in August 2024. Officials are planning further inspections in November and December to check that closed farms have not started operating again and that those still open are preparing to shut.

The government is also developing arrangements for dogs left behind when farms close, including those whose owners give them up. With February’s deadline approaching, those plans will matter for the animals still living on farms.

South Korea’s decision to end the dog meat trade reflects years of campaigning and a profound change in how dogs are viewed within the country. The closure of more than 1,300 farms is an important achievement, even as the figures reveal how difficult it has been to protect the animals caught up in the transition.

For anyone who shares their home with a rescue dog, perhaps one whose early life is only partly known, it’s a reminder of how much can change when a dog finally has somewhere safe to belong.

Sources and further reading

• The Korea Times:  ⁠87% of dog meat farms closed ahead of February ban

• UPI:  ⁠South Korea closes 87% of dog meat farms ahead of 2027 ban

• Korea JoongAng Daily:  ⁠As dog meat ban nears in Korea, canines still require rescue

• Humane World for Animals:  ⁠Dog meat farm survivors arrive in US to find homes