Mushroom-Hunting Dog's Value Soars... 100g Truffle Priced at 1.04 Million Won

Popular luxury ingredient with unique aroma
Truffle-hunting dogs cost over 1 million won
Competitors poison hunting dogs to disrupt harvests

Giant white truffle weighing 1.301 kg harvested in Italy. Photo by EPA·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] As competition intensifies for harvesting Italian truffles, known as a premium ingredient, incidents of poisoning hunting dogs used for truffle hunting have been reported.

On the 18th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that in Alba, Piedmont, in northwest Italy, where the world's most expensive white truffles are found, competition among truffle hunters is becoming increasingly fierce day by day.

White truffles, native to Piedmont and other parts of central Europe, have a lower yield compared to black truffles and remain fresh for only a few days after harvesting, making them a rare ingredient.

White truffles emit a distinctive pungent aroma along with an earthy scent, and dishes containing white truffles are often sold at more than twice the price of those with black truffles in high-end restaurants.

Globally, demand for truffles is rising; however, due to rising temperatures and drying climate changes in Piedmont, a representative truffle-producing region, the quantity of white truffles harvested this year has reached a record low, reducing supply.

In response, truffle hunters are intensifying their efforts by deploying hunting dogs to more easily locate truffles hidden throughout the forests, WSJ reported. The value of dogs with bloodlines skilled at finding truffles has also surged. Some puppies have been traded for $1,000 (approximately 1.3 million KRW).

During this process, there have been controversies as some hunters were found to have spread poison, such as pesticides mixed into dog treats, in the forest with the intent to poison competitors' hunting dogs. A local veterinarian told WSJ that 8 to 10 hunting dogs are admitted to hospitals annually after ingesting poison while out hunting truffles.

In response, the Italian Carabinieri have started searching for poisons with police dogs since this fall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.