South Korea raises compensation for culled livestock to 90% — and to 100% for the first farm to report a disease: what the new animal disease law changes

What has been passed

On 26 October 2026 South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced amendments to the law on the prevention of contagious animal diseases. The law was promulgated on 27 October. It changes three things: compensation for farmers whose animals are culled, inspections of animals and products at the border, and funding for the service that works on the ground during outbreaks.

The amendments cover the main contagious diseases of livestock and poultry: foot-and-mouth disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza, African swine fever and lumpy skin disease. In Korea, as in Europe, these are diseases for which all the animals on an infected farm are usually culled.

Which diseases are covered

The law names the main contagious diseases to which these rules apply.

• Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats that causes blisters in the mouth and on the feet. It spreads quickly through the air and via people and vehicles.
• Highly pathogenic avian influenza arrives in Korea with migrating birds every autumn and winter and hits chicken and duck farms.
• African swine fever is fatal to pigs, there's no vaccine, and the virus survives for a long time in meat products.
• Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease of cattle that causes nodules in the skin and is spread by blood-sucking insects. In recent years it has appeared both in Korea and in southern Europe.

For all these diseases, the main way to stop an outbreak is to find the infected farm quickly, cull the animals and close off the surrounding area. So the speed of reporting decides almost everything.

How compensation worked before

When a dangerous contagious disease is found on a farm, the animals are culled and the owner receives compensation based on their assessed value. But if it turns out the farmer broke prevention rules, the compensation is reduced. The law did, however, allow part of the reduced amount to be restored if the farmer, for example, was the first to report the disease or actively helped to fight it.

The problem was the cap: even after such a restoration, the total payment couldn't exceed 80% of the animals' assessed value. The ministry acknowledged that, as a result, restoring money for good conduct hardly worked as an incentive.

What changes in compensation

The new law raises the cap on the total payment after partial restoration of a reduced amount from 80% to 90% of the animals' assessed value. In addition, a farm that was the first to report one of the main contagious diseases can now receive up to 100% of the value.

For farmers the difference is significant. If a farm with animals worth, say, 100 million won received reduced compensation and then had part of it restored for good conduct, it could previously receive no more than 80 million won; now it can get up to 90 million. A farm that was first to raise the alarm could receive the full 100 million. For small businesses, especially pig and poultry farms, sums like these often decide whether they can start again after an outbreak.

Who counts as the "first reporter" will be set out in secondary legislation. For now the ministry explains it this way: it's the farm within the city, county or district where infection was confirmed after the report, whose report was received before all the others.

Why it's needed

The main aim is to make sure farmers aren't afraid to report a disease. Experience in many countries shows that if an owner fears losing money, they may delay reporting, try to treat the animals themselves or sell them. Meanwhile the virus reaches neighbouring farms and the outbreak grows. The sooner veterinary services find out about a disease, the fewer farms are affected.

That's exactly what the ministry says: the changes are meant to encourage farmers to report diseases voluntarily and take part in prevention, so that outbreaks are found early and stopped from spreading, and farms stay resilient. Raising the compensation cap to 90% is one of the government's policy tasks.

Through these amendments, we'll be able to better reward farmers who actively take part in disease prevention.

Lee Dong-sik, Director of Veterinary Policy at MAFRA

Assistants to vets at the border

The second important part of the law concerns the border. International trade and tourism are growing, and more and more animals and products of animal origin have to be inspected. According to the ministry, the number of inspections rose from 497,000 in 2015 to 1.04 million in 2025 — more than double. But there aren't enough veterinary inspectors to carry them out.

So the law introduces a new role: assistant to a veterinary inspector. These staff can be hired by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. Under the direction of vets, they'll inspect products of animal origin, take entry and exit declarations from people working in livestock farming and carry out disinfection. Inspections of the animals themselves, which require a vet's professional judgement, will still be carried out only by veterinary inspectors.

Why the border matters so much

Many of the most dangerous animal diseases enter a country not with wild birds but with people and food. African swine fever virus survives for months in sausage and ham, and foot-and-mouth disease can arrive on the shoes and clothes of someone who has visited a farm in another country. That's why in Korea, as in many countries, people working in livestock farming who travel to countries with outbreaks must declare it on arrival and undergo disinfection.

The new law makes clear that this duty also applies to inspectors who check livestock products at slaughterhouses. Previously they were treated as slaughterhouse workers; now the duty is written explicitly into the law.

Money for the field service

The third part of the law concerns the veterinary disease prevention support service — an organisation that works on farms during outbreaks, taking samples, disinfecting and checking animal movements. Previously the state and local authorities could pay only for its work required by law; now they can also cover its general running costs. The ministry expects this to make the service more stable.

When the law takes effect

The amendments come into force six months after promulgation, so in spring 2027. The new compensation rules will apply to cases that occur after the law takes effect. Before then the ministry will prepare secondary legislation: rules for calculating compensation, the procedure for recognising the "first reporter", and the qualifications and duties of inspector assistants.

What this means for Europe and the UK

In Europe, too, compensation for culled animals is organised differently from country to country. National authorities pay it, and the EU partly reimburses member states' costs of fighting dangerous diseases. In many EU countries payments can be reduced or withheld altogether if the owner broke biosecurity rules or reported a disease late. The EU Animal Health Law requires owners and vets to report suspicion of dangerous diseases immediately. In Great Britain, too, suspicion of notifiable diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, bird flu and African swine fever must be reported immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

What's interesting about Korea's approach is the direct reward for early reporting — up to 100% of the animals' value. It's a rare example of the state not only penalising delay but explicitly rewarding whoever raises the alarm first. Similar ideas are being discussed in Europe too, where bird flu and African swine fever cause farms huge losses year after year. Korea's experience will show how much such an incentive helps to find outbreaks sooner.

What animal owners in any country should know

Even if you keep only a few hens or a couple of pigs, the rules on contagious diseases apply to you too:

• report sudden deaths or widespread illness in your animals to your vet or the veterinary authority straight away — don't wait for it to "pass";
• don't sell or move sick or suspect animals;
• don't bring meat or dairy products back from trips to countries with outbreaks;
• after visiting farms abroad, don't go near your own animals in the same clothes and footwear;
• register your animals if the law requires it — then the authorities can warn you quickly about an outbreak nearby.

What happens next

Over the next six months Korea's ministry will prepare the secondary legislation. On the same day a revised version of Korea's animal protection law was also promulgated — we reported on it separately. Together these laws show that Korea is both tightening the protection of animals from cruelty and strengthening its system for fighting contagious diseases.

When to call a vet

If your cattle, pigs, sheep, goats or poultry develop a high temperature, blisters in the mouth or on the feet, nodules in the skin, if several animals die suddenly or productivity drops sharply, call your vet straight away. An early call helps not just your animals but every farm in the area.