People in North Korea now risk the wrath of the regime if they keep dogs as pets, Pyongyang has decreed, warning that canines should only be kept for meat and fur.
The bizarre ban was announced through the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea, according to a source in South Pyongan Province, which lies north of the capital.
Can People Own Dogs in North Korea?
Speaking to Daily NK, a newspaper in neighbouring South Korea, the source listed the offences that could leave dog owners in violation of the government’s socialist ethos.
‘Treating a dog as a family member, who eats and sleeps with the family, is incompatible with the socialist lifestyle and should be strictly avoided,’ they said.
Dressing dogs in clothes, as exemplified by Western celebrities like Paris Hilton, was also singled out for condemnation.
The source continued: ‘The practice of dressing up dogs as if they were humans, putting pretty ribbons in their hair, wrapping them in a blanket, and burying them when they die is a bourgeois activity.
‘It’s one of the ways wealthy people waste money in a capitalist society.’
Are Dogs Eaten in North Korea?
Describing the regime’s attitude, the source said: ‘Dogs are basically meat that’s raised outside in accordance with their nature and then eaten when they die.
What is Not Allowed in North Korea?
‘Therefore, such behaviour is totally unsocialist and must be strictly eliminated.’
The regime also emphasised that ‘the purpose of raising dogs is to collect more furs’, the source said.
Rising levels of dog ownership – a practice described by the authorities as carrying ‘the stench of the bourgeoisie’ – reportedly motivated the new edict.
And while citizens were being given the chance to deal with the matter ‘quietly’, non-compliance could trigger a ‘mass movement’ to ‘eliminate’ the practice, the source said.
The custom of keeping pet pooches must ultimately die out, union members were warned.
