The ministry said it is beginning a full-fledged crackdown on restaurants that serve snake soup, popular among some Koreans as a healthy dish, as well as their consumers.
Under current laws, those who sell dishes made of wild animals, including snake, can be sentenced up to one year in jail or slapped with a maximum fine of 5 million won (US$4,089). Smuggling and poaching wild animals are also prohibited by law.
"Although some celebrities and sports players like to show off that they eat healthy food like snake soup, it is now illegal," an official at the ministry said. "We will keep clamping down on it until people change their perception."//Yonhap
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