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North Korea bans keeping dogs as pets unless they plan to eat them
North Koreans have been banned from keeping dogs as pets except they are kept for meat and fur.
The 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.
Speaking to Daily NK, a newspaper in neighboring 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.’
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.
‘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.
One dog owner described by Daily NK was reduced to tears by the announcement.
‘What should I do with the dog I love so much? I can’t just kill it, and I can’t just abandon it,’ she reportedly said.
Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), which documents the atrocities of the Kim regime, said it was a ‘ludicrous’ decree.
He said: ‘The Kim regime criminalises normal behaviour, including visiting a relative in a neighbouring village without a travel permit, crossing the border without regime approval, or possessing a religious book.
‘The ongoing crackdown on pet dog ownership as non-socialist behaviour – this attempt to break the multi-millennial human-canine bond by ideological decree – is the epitome of ludicrous interdiction.’
According to the source in South Pyongan, the practice of keeping dogs as pets started small in North Korea in the early 2000s, when they were usually guard dogs.
They said: ‘There have always been families who had cats to catch mice, but there weren’t many families with dogs.
‘But that number has gradually increased, and recently there’s been a noticeable rise in foreign breeds of dogs such as Pomeranians and Shih Tzus, which used to be a rare sight in North Korea.’
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday, swore in General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd) as Minister of Defence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
General Musa’s appointment follows the resignation of Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar on Monday, December 1, 2025. His nomination was announced the following day and transmitted to the Senate, where it received expedited screening and confirmation.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Nigerian Army in 1991 and had a distinguished military career. He was appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023 and retired in October 2025.
As Chief of Defence Staff, he championed inter-service security collaboration.
With his swearing-in, the new Defence Minister is expected to immediately assume duties as the Tinubu administration seeks to consolidate recent security gains and fast-track reforms aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability nationwide.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Sen. Adeniyi Adegbonmire, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Also in attendance were the spouse of the new Minister, Mrs Lilian Oghogho Musa; Chief of Defense Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs (rtd).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said it has appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which ordered the release of twenty-seven houses to James Ibechukwu Okoye and his company.
In the Notice of Appeal filed at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, the Commission expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the trial court, which was delivered on October 31, 2025.
EFCC counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, sought two orders from the Court of Appeal, which include; Staying the execution of the judgment of the trial court pending the hearing and determination of the appeal; and such further or other orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.
Meanwhile, the Commission said it felt obliged to correct the distortions and misrepresentations contained in a news story titled “EFCC Invades Abuja Property Despite Court Order Restraining Agency, Awarding N20 million To Jona Brothers”.
It explained in a statement on X that the Abuja property, Plot 680-689 Cadastral Zone B06, Mabushi, Abuja, referenced in the report, is a subject of criminal charge before Justice A.I Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court .
However, the EFCC said it sought and secured an order of interim forfeiture of the property before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja pending the determination of the criminal charge before Justice Kutigi.
“In granting the order, the court authorized the EFCC to ‘appoint competent persons/ firm to manage the assets/properties listed in the schedule therein, temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government pending the conclusion of investigation and determination of criminal charges against the suspect,’”
“It is also important to point out that the criminal charge struck out by Justice Osho Adebiyi and the N20m cost she awarded is not in any way connected to the interim order.
“In addition, the enforcement of the interim forfeiture order of the property by the Commission is without prejudice to ongoing appeals on court pronouncements about the true ownership of the property. The appeals are ongoing and the EFCC is diligently attending proceedings.”
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has reaffirmed the commitment of the country’s judiciary to protection of human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and other international laws and treaties.
She emphasized that the judiciary remains steadfast in its constitutional mandate to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens.
The CJN spoke on Thursday at the conference on ‘Proportional Force and Respect for Human Dignity: A Dialogue in Governance’, organized by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, in collaboration with Citizen FM.
The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, NJI, Justice Babatunde Adeniran Adejumo, represented the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the conference.
In the goodwill message, Justice Kekere-Ekun congratulated the National Human Rights Commission on its 30th anniversary and commended the organizers for holding the conference on International Human Rights Day.
She emphasized that when authority is exercised with restraint, discipline, and accountability, it strengthens public trust and reinforces the legitimacy of institutions.
The CJN reiterated the judiciary’s commitment to protecting human rights and providing remedies where they are infringed.
“Let me make it abundantly clear that the judiciary remains steadfast in its constitutional mandate to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens,” she said.
The CJN further commended the NHRC for promoting dialogue and awareness on critical human rights issues in Nigeria.
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