Protesters have shutdown a proposed dog-meat promotion scheme at Moran Market near Seoul, Gyeonggi Province.

The Korea Dog Farmers’ Association had planned to have a dog meat festival at the market on July 1 to promote dog meat and spread propaganda. They had hoped to popularize the idea that dogs are simply livestock, like cows and pigs, and that they should be officially classified as livestock. This, the dog farmers say, will ensure more sanitary conditions.

Such propoganda is not to be believed. Attempts to clean up dog farms with sanitation laws have been a failure, and it is ludicrous to think that simply reclassifying dogs will meet with any more success. Also, the dog killing advocates make no mention of better animal welfare, probably because they don't care about that.

According to market dog-meat sellers, The Korea Dog Farmers’ Association drew unnecessary attention to the event. The original idea was to give meals to senior citizens, but the Dog Farmers’ Association tried to turn it into a propaganda event.

Animal rights groups vowed to do whatever it took to stop the festival. With all the bad publicity and spectre again of the dog meat issue damaging Korea's image and reputation, the dog meat traders backed down. But they are still defiant and plan to have a "festival" elsewhere in the future.

Officials of the Seongnam area did nothing, since there was nothing illegal about a dog meat festival. The selling and consumption of dog meat is not prohibited by law, even though it is illegal to butcher dogs and sell dog meat because dogs are not classed as livestock. To put it a better way, dog meat is neither legal nor illegal. The Korean government keeps the issue in legal limbo and prefers not to do anything about it.

The good news is that dog eating is on the decline in Korea thanks to efforts like this by groups of protesters and thanks to a new generation with a greater sensitivity to animal welfare issues. It's all making dog farmers and killers poorer and poorer and that's a good thing.