WONJU, South Korea — On a farm nestled between hills of chestnut and acorn trees, the aging Spitz has had an easy life. She follows her owner, Gong In-young, everywhere. And he dotes on the dog, whose name is Snow White.

韩国，原州――长满栗子树与橡树的小山之间坐落着一片农场，一只上了年纪的银狐犬在这里过着惬意的生活。主人孔仁英（Gong In-young，音）走到哪里，她就跟到哪里。他也非常宠爱这条名叫“白雪公主”的狗。

Yet on his farm in a valley southeast of Seoul, Mr. Gong, 55, also raises dogs for their meat.

但是，在这座位于首尔东南方山谷里的农场，55岁的孔仁英还饲养着肉用狗。

Locked up in steel cages their entire lives, the animals are fed with discarded food Mr. Gong collects from restaurants in nearby towns until they are ready to be sold to the slaughterhouse, 200 to 300 each year.

它们一生被锁在钢笼子里，吃的是孔仁英从附近镇上饭馆收集来的残羹剩饭，最后会被卖到屠宰场去。孔仁英每年要卖出200到300条狗。

Referring to the lives of Snow White and the dogs raised for meat, he admits, “It’s the difference between heaven and hell.”

他承认，“白雪公主”的生活和这些肉用犬的生活“就像天堂和地狱的区别”。

Mr. Gong recently struck a deal with Humane Society International, an animal-rights group that has begun a campaign against dog farms in South Korea. It is offering financial incentives to farmers — $2,000 to $60,000 depending on the number of dogs involved — who give up their animals to be adopted as family pets in the United States and elsewhere and switch to other livelihoods, like growing pepper or blueberries. Since last year, the group says it has shut down five farms.

孔仁英最近和国际人道对待动物协会(Humane Society International)签署了协议，这个动物权利组织发起了一场反对韩国肉狗养殖场的行动，向养殖场主提供经济奖励（根据狗的数量，可在2000美元到6万美元内不等），鼓励他们放弃养狗，让这些狗可以被美国或其他地方的人收养为家庭宠物，场主则可以转换谋生手段，比如种植辣椒或蓝莓。去年以来，这家组织称已经关停了五家养殖场。

Mr. Gong agreed to free his 260 dogs only weeks before many of them were scheduled to die.

孔仁英同意释放自己的260条狗，按照原计划，再过几个星期，其中有不少就要被送去屠宰了。

It is difficult to measure the global dog-meat trade, an industry that is deplorably regulated. Animal rights groups estimate that 30 million dogs, mostly stolen or feral, are killed each year for their meat in Asia, in countries such as China and Vietnam.

全球狗肉贸易的监管十分混乱，其规模如何很难测算。动物权利组织估计，在亚洲的中国和越南等国，每年有3000万条狗被宰杀食用，其中大部分是盗窃而来的狗或流浪犬。

South Korea has industrialized its dog-meat trade. Each year, more than 17,000 dog farms, some of them raising more than 1,000 animals each, supply 2 million dogs to meet the country’s centuries-old appetite for dog meat, according to government data.

韩国的狗肉贸易已经产业化。根据政府数据，全国有超过1.7万家食用犬养殖场（有的狗场每家畜养肉狗超过1000条），每年出产200万条食用犬，延续着韩国有几百年历史的吃狗肉传统。

In Mr. Gong’s warehouselike complex of cages, visitors walk into a deafening cacophony. Huskies, Rottweilers, golden retrievers and other breeds bark and paw at the wires. Retired Tosa fighting dogs lie listlessly, some with their snouts badly mangled. Below the cages, feces piles up, creating an overpowering odor.

走进孔仁英仓库般的笼舍，犬吠声震耳欲聋。哈士奇犬、罗威纳犬、金毛寻回犬和其他犬种的狗吠叫着，用爪子抓着铁丝笼子。退役的土佐斗犬无精打采地躺着，有几条狗口鼻严重受伤。笼子底下是成堆的狗粪，散发出强烈的臭味。

Dog traders visit these farms to buy animals when the summer’s dog-eating season approaches. At current rates, an 80-pound dog goes for $250. They transport the dogs in cages so crowded they can barely move or even suffocate before they arrive at slaughterhouses for electrocution.

夏天的狗肉季一到，狗肉贩子就会到这些养殖场来买狗。根据当下的行情，一条80磅重的狗可以卖到250美元（约合每公斤45元人民币）。这些狗被装进笼子里运输， 笼子塞得满满的，它们无法移动，甚至无法呼吸。活着送到屠宰场的狗会被电击而死。

From the slaughterhouse, wholesale meat dealers supply the carcasses to back-alley dog-meat restaurants, where customers, many of them older men, enjoy a hot bowl of vegetables, spicy condiments and shredded dog meat.

狗肉批发商把屠宰场宰好的犬只卖给小巷里的狗肉馆，那里的食客中有不少是年纪较大的男性，他们来到这里，享用一碗由蔬菜、辛辣调料和狗肉丝做成的热汤。

“Dog is raised and supplied just like cabbage is,” Mr. Gong said.

“狗养大之后被买卖，就像卷心菜一样，”孔仁英说。

Koreans call the dog dish “bosintang,” or “soup good for your body.” It became popular when the nation was destitute and meat was scarce.

韩国人把狗肉汤称为“补身汤”。在这个国家非常贫穷、肉类匮乏的年代，这种汤开始流行起来。

Koreans are fiercely proud of their culinary history. Even those who shun dog meat often bristle at foreigners who criticize the practice; to them, eating snails is unthinkable and force-feeding ducks to produce foie gras cruel.

韩国人对自己的饮食历史非常自豪。就算不吃狗肉的人听了外国人批评他们这个传统，也会大为光火；对他们来说，吃蜗牛是不可想象的，为了鹅肝对鹅进行强制填喂更是残忍。

But as South Korea has become wealthier, its tastes and attitudes toward animals has changed. Keeping pets has become more commonplace. Television programs on raising companion animals or rescuing abused dogs are popular. In parliamentary elections in April, one small party championed animal rights.

但是随着韩国变得富裕起来，人们的品味以及对待动物的态度也在发生变化。饲养宠物已经成了常事。电视里关于伴侣动物以及拯救遭受虐待的狗的节目很受欢迎。在4月的议会选举中，一个小党派呼吁保护动物权利。

Increasingly South Koreans, especially the younger generation, find the idea of eating dog meat appalling.

韩国人，特别是年轻一代，愈来愈觉得吃狗肉是件可怕的事。

“Grandpa strokes my poodle on his lap and says, ‘This is just the right size for a bowl of bosintang,’ ” said Kim , 14, who recently visited a pet accessory store in Seoul with his mother. “He’s joking, but whenever he says that, I snatch my dog from him.”

“爷爷抱着我的贵宾犬说，‘大小刚好够做一碗补身汤，’”14岁的金(Kim)说。他最近和妈妈一起去了首尔的一家宠物用品店。“他是开玩笑的，但是每次他这么说，我就会把狗从他手里抢回来。”

Animal rights groups hope the campaign to free more dogs will boost public awareness about the animals’ plight ahead of the Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018, when the country will be more sensitive to its international image.

动物权利组织希望解救更多肉用犬的行动能够在2018年韩国冬季奥运会之前提升公众对这些狗的悲惨处境的认识，届时韩国会对自身的国际形象更加在意。

“There is widespread public ignorance about the dogs bred for meat — the myth that these dogs are somehow different from ‘normal dogs’ has fostered a societal indifference to their suffering,” said Wendy Higgins, a Humane Society International spokeswoman.

“人们对饲养的肉用犬持有普遍的漠视态度，他们的误区是，这些狗和‘普通狗’是不一样的，这种想法造成了社会对这些狗的痛苦抱着冷漠态度，” 国际人道对待动物协会发言人温迪·希金斯(Wendy Higgins)说。

“Our experience at all farms has shown that every breed of dog imaginable is found on a dog meat farm, including the pure breeds that are popular as companions,” she said.

“我们在所有养殖场的经验表明，任何品种的犬类都可以在肉狗养殖场找到，包括普遍作为伴侣动物的纯种犬，”她说。

Mr. Gong said he had moved into this valley southeast of Seoul to breed special-purpose animals, like guide dogs for the blind, after his music cafe in Seoul went bankrupt in the 1990s. Oversupply and plummeting prices for specialty dogs forced him to sell the animals for meat. Ten years ago, he began to raise dogs for meat full time.

孔仁英说，20世纪90年代，他在首尔经营的音乐咖啡屋倒闭，于是他就搬来这个位于首尔东南的山谷，原本是饲养导盲犬等特殊用途动物。后来这些特殊犬供过于求，价格暴跌，他只得把它们卖做肉用。10年前，他开始全职饲养肉用狗。

“I am not particularly proud of eating dog meat, but I don’t think it’s something we should be ashamed of either,” he said. “No nation should be criticized for its food.”

“我并不为吃狗肉感到特别骄傲，但我也不觉得这有什么可耻的，”他说。“任何国家都不应当为自己的饮食习俗遭受批评。”

Andrew Plumbly, a Humane Society International campaigner, said, “Culture is never an excuse for cruelty.”

人道对待动物协会工作人员安德鲁·普朗布里(Andrew Plumbly)则说：“文化不是残忍的借口。”

When the two sides met recently, they found common ground.

双方最近见面之后，找到了共识。

Mr. Gong saw no long-term future for his trade. Surveys show that most South Koreans now eat chicken, beef or pork instead of dog meat on boknal, days when they traditionally eat food they believe helps beat the summer heat. None of the young people Mr. Gong knew, including his son, would touch dog meat. He said the image of dog farms was “not good.”

孔仁英认识到，他所从事的行业远景并不美妙。传统上，韩国人习惯在伏天吃他们认为能够消暑的食物，但调查显示，如今韩国人在这几天往往不再吃狗肉，而是吃鸡肉、牛肉或猪肉。孔仁英认识的年轻人里没有人吃狗肉，包括他的儿子。他说，肉狗场的形象“不怎么好”。

On a recent day, Mr. Gong saw off 17 of his dogs, the latest batch to be flown to the United States under the deal with the animal protection group. He said he “felt better” when he saw pictures of the dogs living happily as family pets abroad. He said he might try growing mushrooms now.

前不久，孔仁英送走了17条狗。这是最新一批根据与人道对待动物协会的协议用飞机送往美国的狗。他说，在照片上看到这些狗在海外成了家庭宠物，过着幸福生活，自己“感觉好多了”。他还说，从现在起可能会尝试种蘑菇。

“I was not ashamed of my way of making a living, but I was not proud of it either,” he said, gazing at the dogs still held in cages while they were vaccinated and awaited flights out of South Korea. “No one would do this if he could avoid it.”

“过去我并不为自己的谋生方式感到耻辱，但也并不为它感到自豪，”他望着那些仍然锁在笼子里的狗说。它们正接受疫苗注射，等待乘飞机离开韩国。“如果有别的办法，没有人愿意做这一行。”