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Animal Welfare Policies in South Korea
With the increased global interest in animal welfare, South Korea has implemented laws and policies related to animal production. The goal of this research is to review animal welfare trends in South Korea and introduce the farms that produce livestock with animal welfare in mind. The animal protection laws and policies implemented in South Korea include breeding management, transportation management, slaughter methods, animal welfare, prohibition of animal abuse, and farm regulations. By setting new standards, animal welfare will develop as a leading growth tool in the future livestock industry. In countries with leading livestock industries like the U.S., France, Denmark, and others, certification marks are given to animals produced under strict animal welfare policies to differentiate them from other livestock, and those produced within those certification programs are sold at a relatively higher price. European consumers willingly pay a higher price for products from animals raised under animal welfare certification program guidelines and feel pride in their belief that supporting those products contributes to the good of society. Following these trends, a certification system, which provides legal verification to those farms that comply with the government standard in animal welfare, was stipulated in South Korea. The system went into effect in 2012 with the chicken egg industry. Pigs were included in the system in 2013, and broilers were included in the certification system in 2014. Beginning in 2015, the system will expand annually to include native Korean cattle, beef cattle, dairy cattle and others.
Keywords: South Korea, Animal Welfare, Policy