One year into the three-year grace period following South Korea’s dog meat consumption ban, 70 percent of the country’s dog meat farms have shut down, according to the agriculture ministry.

Since August last year, one-thousand-72 of roughly one-thousand-500 farms have filed for closure, affecting about 346-thousand dogs or 74 percent of those bred for consumption nationwide.

The closures have far outpaced government projections, with more than double the expected number closing in the first half of this year alone.

The ministry on Thursday attributed the trend to a growing perception that ending dog meat consumption is irreversible since the law’s enactment, bolstered by early closure incentives and seasonal demand.

The law will fully ban the breeding, distribution and consumption of dogs for meat from 2027, with government support for closures gradually decreasing until then.

Dogs from closed farms have been rehomed through adoption, sold as pets or guard dogs, or transferred to local authorities.