South Korea SHUTS DOWN its largest dog meat slaughterhouse

South Korea has closed its largest dog meat warehouse as demand for the product continues to decline.

Hundreds of thousands of dogs were killed each year at Taepyeong and later sold for meat, according to Humane Society International.

Following the closure of the warehouse, Seongnam City Council intends to build a community park on the land.

The facility comprises of six individual slaughterhouses, five of which will be bulldozed immediately. The cages inside the sixth building will be destroyed and equipment removed so that it is no longer operational.

Hundreds of thousands of dogs were killed each year at Taepyeong (AFP/Getty Images)

Humane Society International described conditions inside the slaughterhouse as “horrifying.” They found a number of empty wire pens that would have held hundreds of dogs, as well as the electrocution equipment used to kill them and a de-hairing machine.

They also reported seeing a pile of dead dogs on the floor.

Nara Kim, HIS/Korea’s dog meat campaigner said: “It was incredibly moving for me to be a part of the historic closure of this notorious dog slaughter house.

South Korean officials began to dismantle the country's largest dog slaughterhouse complex criticised by animal rights activists (AFP/Getty Images)

“This really feels like a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and sends the clear message that the dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society.”

Around one million dogs are eaten in South Korea every year.

However popularity of dog meat in the country has continued to decline.

A survey by Gallup Korea found that 70 percent of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in the future.