People keep dogs for various reasons, and they are often sentimental. According to a report, this is allegedly not welcomed in North Korea and is even forbidden.
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'Not compatible with the socialist lifestyle'
A while ago, South Korea's former president received two dogs as a gift from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. After a dispute broke out over who should pay for the animals' care, they ended up in a zoo, as per TheGuardian.
The gift was indeed quite surprising, considering that in North Korea dogs are not seen the same way that they are in other cultures. They are seen as a source of food and also bred for their fur.
However, it seems as though that is slowly changing. According to an article in the Daily NK, members of the Socialist Women's Union of Korea have been told that dogs should no longer be kept as pets in the future.
An unnamed source is said to have reported the following:
With the growing number of families keeping a dog as a pet, the Socialist Women's Union of Korea recently informed its members that treating a dog as a family member that eats and sleeps with the family is incompatible with the socialist lifestyle and should be strictly avoided.
You can only keep a dog for its meat and fur
In North Korea dog ownership is apparently seen as a 'waste of money'. Furthermore, the regime allegedly states:
Dogs are basically meat that is bred outside according to its nature and then eaten when it dies. The purpose of breeding dogs is to collect more fur.
As the Daily Mail further reports, there will allegedly be consequences if dog owners do not act accordingly:
Non-compliance could trigger a 'mass movement' to 'eliminate' the practice.
Most recently, its neighbouring country South Korea took a step in the opposite direction. Animal welfare is the top priority there, and so a 'bill banning the consumption and sale of dog meat' was passed, as France24 reported at the time.
This article has been translated from Gentside DE.
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Sources used:
Guardian: Kim Jong-un dogs end up at South Korean zoo after care costs row
Daily NK: N. Korea calls ownership of pet dogs "non-socialist behavior"
France24: South Korea bans consumption of dog meat in win for animal activism
Daily Mail: North Korea bans keeping dogs as pets - unless you plan to EAT and SKIN them
