Thefts of domesticated animals, particularly dogs, have recently grown rampant in South Hamgyong Province, Daily NK has learned.
According to a source in South Hamgyong Province on Wednesday, the province has recently been suffering from frequent thefts of domesticated animals being raised at private homes.
In particular, many dogs are being stolen, reportedly by hard-up locals who cannot afford to buy dog meat, a popular restorative dish during the so-called sambokcheol, traditionally considered the three hottest days of the year.
North Koreans consider dogmeat a miracle cure for stamina, so much so that eating it during sambokcheol supposedly cures illnesses. People suffering hardships, however, cannot even think of buying it.
Because of this, more and more people in distress are stealing other people’s dogs to feed their families.
The source also said that with the price of dog meat increasing annually as more and more people seek it out on sambokcheol, many hard-up locals are stealing dogs to sell to make money, rather than to eat them themselves.
The source said this is one of the reasons domesticated animal theft is so prevalent around the sambokchol.
“Agricultural villages in Hongwon County are swarming with animal thieves nowadays,” said the source. “The thieves have gotten so good at it that the animals are gone without a trace in the blink of an eye. The animals people have carefully raised are gone when they wake up in the morning.”
In fact, in one village in Sinhong-ri, Hongwon County, thieves made off with animals even after the community put three-to-four man teams on night watch, much to everyone’s embarrassment.
North Koreans often supplement their income by buying small dogs in winter to grow and sell during the summer sambokcheol season, when the price is the highest. This is why people invest a fair amount of money in dog food, even when they themselves have little to eat.
As more and more of these treasured dogs go missing in the blink of an eye, people are spending sleepless nights keeping watch over their animals. With the recent start of the sambokcheol season, many North Koreans are having an especially tough time as thieves sometimes break into homes even in broad daylight to steal dogs.
The source said people who were already struggling are being reduced to “beggars with homes” when they are robbed.
“Even if you report the theft to the police, they do little. In fact, the police just make absurd requests for cigarettes or booze in exchange for making an effort to catch the thieves,” he said.
“With quarantine efforts being intensified, controls are tightening on people entering the village, but it’s no use once somebody has become a target of the thieves,” he continued, adding, “People feel insecure and despondent about the future since it seems like it’s becoming a world where they cut off people’s noses as soon as they close their eyes.”
