Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the South Korean government on the dog meat trade.

Alok Sharma

I spoke to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ambassador on 12 September, ahead of a Westminster Hall Debate on the dog meat trade in ROK, to raise the issue of the dog meat trade and highlight the strength of feeling among the British public and Parliamentarians on this issue. As I stated in the Westminster Hall Debate, there is evidence that attitudes among the ROK public towards the dog meat trade and animal welfare are changing. We hope to encourage that change. The British Ambassador in RoK most recently raised the dog meat trade directly in Seoul on 1 September, highlighting our concerns about the treatment and welfare of animals. The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the British Government will continue to promote animal welfare with our international partners.

I have included a copy of the transcript of the 12 September Westminster Hall Debate with this answer.