South Korea: Please stop the torture and consumption of dogs and cats
- by: Animals Group
- recipient: Ambassador Kim Jong-Il, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Switzerland Ambassador Kim Young-Seok, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Italy President Lee Myung-Bak, Office of the president, the Republic of Korea Prime Minister Mr. Kim Hwang-sik, Prime Mi
Please watch this S. Korea's "Dog Meat Market Undercover Video" and share it with everyone!
http://animalrightskorea.org/dog-meat-issue/dog-meat-market-undercover-video.html
Every year, two million South Korean dogs and cats, the majority of whom are homeless, are captured by butchers and sold in open markets. They await the most gruesome fate—dogs are slowly and agonizingly torn apart, electrocuted, strangled, or beaten to death while cats are bludgeoned and boiled alive for human consumption. The cruelty and suffering is one of unimaginable horror.
A Dog's Life:
Dogs live in tiny cages above the ground all their lives. They are separated from their mothers at an early age and some are slaughtered as pups; they do not feel what walking on the ground is like; they cannot mingle with other dogs other than those in cages beside them; they suffer summer heat and freezing winters outdoors; they are not given water; they have to eat human food waste such as kimchi; they get no exercise; they have been known to have their eardrums burst to prevent them from barking--every natural instinct they have is thwarted by the inhumane and tortuous conditions they must live under.
A Dog's Death:
Dogs are electrocuted, hanged, beaten or burned to death. There is a perverted belief that the meat tastes better if dogs have high adrenaline levels in their meat before they die. Therefore, some dogs are made to experience extreme fear and suffering leading up to their deaths. Some dogs are hanged and then beaten while they are hanging and still alive. Others are hanged and then a blow torch is used on them while they are still alive to remove their hair. Others still are simply beaten and tortured to death. Generally, at the markets, dogs are electrocuted and then their necks are broken.
A Dog's Products:
Dogs are turned into dog meat, dog meat soup, dog liquor, and dog "health" elixirs. Dubious health claims are made about dog products, including the typical claim that it assists male stamina and sexual prowess. Such pathetic claims are made throughout Asia with regard to all manner of animal products to attract equally pathetic male customers. In Korea, over the hottest days of the year, people follow a custom of eating dog meat because it allegedly increases energy. Exercising for health and energy is apparently too much hard work for dog meat eaters.
South Korean's Animal Protection Law, which was passed in 1991, considers dogs to be "domestic pets," but the shadowy and illicit world of the dog and cat industry flourishes because of the shameful indifference of the South Korean government.
"It's inconceivable to me that a being we consider "man's best friend" could be so mercilessly killed, skinned, and butchered. And that our beloved cats experience such unthinkable cruelty." --Elliot M. Katz, DVM
"I asked about the eating of dogs and was told over and over that it didn't happen anymore. You can imagine my shock and horror upon getting lost in one of the huge markets in downtown Taegu. I looked down and saw the head of a dog with its legs stuffed in its mouth. I saw limbs that were skinned. Everywhere I turned there were dogs in cages. The smell was overwhelming. That market, that sweltering hot August day, was what I envisioned hell to be like." –An American teacher in South Korea
Please also sign the below petition:
http://www.uniteddogs.com/stopkillingdogs/
I urge you to also send an email directly to the President of S. Korea here: http://english.president.go.kr/common/email.php
For more info:
http://www.kaap.or.kr/s1.html?mode=read&idx=18425&search&kwd&page=1&page_list=1&db_name=s1
http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/index.html
http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/koreando.html
http://animalrightskorea.org/dog-meat-issue/dog-meat-issue-sections.html
http://animalrightskorea.org/dog-meat-issue/karas-position-on-the-dog-meat-industry.html
http://yellowdog.or.kr/html/pic.html
Dear Decision Maker,
I urge you, as an official with the power to make a difference, to please use your authority to support an amendment to strengthen South Korea's Animal Protection Law to ban the torture, killing, sale and consumption of dogs and cats.
Humane people worldwide in their millions are shocked and speechless over the horrors inflicted on dogs in the meat trade in South Korea. It is also well known that these dogs endure agony that no living being ever should. Cruel confinement and various methods of slaughter are used on the dogs totally void of compassion, unbecoming of humankind. In the worst cases they are beaten to death slowly and deliberately to soften their flesh while keeping the head intact in order to soften the meat.
Can anyone in Korea be this hungry? There is no word in any world language that can adequately describe this kind of horror.
Is this the way South Korea repays dogs well known for their love, affection, loyalty and ALTRUISM to our fellow Human Beings? Is greater treachery of friends possible?
When I see this kind of malevolence on the helpless dogs, I am embarrassed to be called human. I have no doubt that many South Koreans feel the same.
Modern technology is bringing the world closer and the unbelievable atrocities committed against Dogs in South Korea is reaching more and more people worldwide. Apart from the brutalization of the dogs, even in the absence of compassion, would one still want South Korea to become known as the land that brutalizes the vulnerable and the defenseless to the maximum?
There is no appropriate animal protection legislation to prevent the prevailing animal cruelty currently taking place in South Korea. As someone who believes strongly that animals should not be treated in this way, I urge the South Korean Government to strengthen the South Korean Animal Protection Law to prevent animal cruelty and to introduce basic animal protection regulations. It must also provide penalties for violations and ensure that mistreated animals can be legally seized from abusers and given immediate refuge.
We are hopeful that compassion will prevail over grievous and rampant injustice to dogs in South Korea and that you will take steps to bring this to an end.
Without banning the dog and cat meat trade and amending the Animal Protection Law to the global standard, South Korea will not enjoy the respect commensurate with the country's international stature.
I will not buy South Korean products or visit South Korea until these horrors come to an end.
----------------
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
[Your name]
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.