30 September 2023 , 16:00
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Alan Carr says he has been criticised for rescuing a dog from Korea that would have been butchered for its meat if he hadn’t saved her.
The 47-year-old comedian is the proud owner of two dogs - including one he named Tuppence after saving her from a horrible fate. Dog loving Alan knew he was doing a good thing by getting in contact with a dog charity to rescue the animal from a dog meat festival in Korea.
However, he wasn’t banking on being on the receiving end of abuse from unimpressed fans who criticised him for not adopting a dog in the UK instead. Alan was a guest on Jack Dee and Seann Walsh’s pet focused podcast Oh My Dog! when he explained his noble rescue story - and the unexpected backlash that his kind actions ignited Speaking to hosts Jack, 62, and Seann, 37, in an episode that was released this week, Alan explained: “I’ve got an Irish setter called Joyce and we’ve got one called Tuppence who was saved and was going to be eaten at the Korean Meat Festival and we rescued the dog.”
Alan Carr has two dogs - including one that he rescued from a dog meat festival (@chattyman/Instagram)
Alan Carr was devastatedHorrified hosts Jack and Seann then asked Alan for more details about the festival and to hear how he rescued Tuppence. The comedian explained: “I know it’s called the Dog Meat Festival and I actually said on stage ‘Oh my god, I rescued a dog’. People genuinely thought it was me that had rescued the dog. Like I’d been lowered into Korea like Jason Statham. And rescued the dog. And I was like ‘No, no no! It’s a fantastic dog charity.’
“And so, yeah.. Then I got grief as well. ‘There’s so many English dogs, why are you saving a Korean dog?’ You can’t do anything right! Brexit and all this. I just recused the dog. It needed a home. I had the space. I should’ve got a British bulldog. An English dog. A proper dog.”
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Alan then went into more detail, saying: “I just paid for it to come over. It’s a grim story, I don’t know if you want me to go into it. They go around and steal dogs that are pets and what they do is they just pay the dog meat people money and say ‘can we rescue the dogs?’ It doesn’t solve anything culturally.”
With a nod towards dark humour, Alan then added: “I don’t mean to be rude, but there’s not much meat on her anyway. You’d have to have chips with it.”
The consumption of dog meat in South Korea has been in decline for years - with officials pushing for a full ban in 2023. In North Korea, however, the dog meat trade is arguably enjoying a renaissance after supreme leader Kim Jong Un opened a new dog meat restaurant in March this year which was part of a nationwide drive to promote “healthier eating” in the rogue state.
The new opening came amid unconfirmed reports that North Koreans were dying of hunger. Dog meat is considered a national dish in North Korea with many restaurants existing while cooking contests take place that use all parts of the animal, and can be shown on state television.