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Busan Gijang: Sledgehammer blow to the neck not cruel?

This is a translation of the November 5th, 2013 posting on Busan KAPCA(Busan Korea Alliance for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)’s website: Busan Gijang: Sledgehammer blow to the neck not cruel?

We received a tip about a dog farm located near an apartment complex from one of our members in Gijang-gun in Busan, so we visited this place with a representative from the Gijang district office.

Inside there were raised dog cages and a slaughterhouse. In addition, there was evidence of slaughter as pots used to boil dog meat to make dog elixirs and the finished products were seen.

After hearing from the local residents that dog slaughter takes place around 4 or 5am, our team leader staked out the location. When the lights came on, he called the police and conducted the raid.

At the scene, there were dead bodies of dogs that were just slaughtered and blowtorched… There was blood all over the floor. The perpetrator admitted that he just killed that dog by taking a sledgehammer to its neck.

At first, after his admission, we requested that the perpetrator be prosecuted for the violation of Animal Protection Act. However, the police contacted us the next day and told us that they are not sure if there was a clear-cut violation of this law and that prosecution would be difficult.

The Animal Protection Act includes the following provisions:

Article 8 (Prohibition of Cruelty to Animals, etc.) (Amended 3/23/2013, 4/5/2013)
(1) No person shall commit any of the following offenses against an animal:
1. Killing an animal by hanging it by the neck or by applying any other cruel method;
2. Killing an animal on the street or any other place open to the public or killing an animal with any other animal of the same species present at the scene;
3. The deliberate act of not feeding food or water to the animals causing the death of these animals.
4. Killing an animal without a justifiable ground specified by Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as necessity for veterinary treatment and harm or damage caused by an animal to human life, body or property.
(2) No person shall engage in any of the following cruelty to an animal:
1. Inflicting an injury upon an animal with a tool or drug: Provided, That the cases specified by Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as the prevention or treatment of a disease, shall be excluded herefrom;
2. Hurting the body of a live animal, collecting body fluid from a live animal, or installing a device for collecting body fluid from a live animal: Provided, That the cases specified by Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as the curing of a disease and animal experimentation, shall be excluded herefrom;
3. Inflicting an injury upon an animal for the purpose of gambling, advertising, amusement, or entertainment: Provided, That the cases specified by Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as folk games, shall be excluded herefrom;
4. Inflicting an injury upon an animal for any other purpose without a justifiable ground specified by Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as necessity for veterinary treatment and harm or damage caused by an animal to human life, body or property.
(3) No person shall commit any of the following offenses against an animal specified in Article 14 (1) 1 or 2:
1. Catching and selling or killing such animal;
2. Knowingly acting as a broker for purchasing, or directly purchasing, an animal protected under Article 14 (1).
(4) No owner or keeper of an animal shall abandon the animal.
(5) No one shall sell, exhibit, forward, show or post on the internet, video footages of acts described in the Article 8 (1) through (3). However, the cases specified by the Ordinance of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such as promotional activities for the clearly indicated purpose of enhancing animal protection awareness shall be excluded from here. (Enacted 8/13/2013) [Effective 2/14/2014]

However, the police are saying that the act of killing by a sledgehammer blow to the neck and blowtorching does not qualify as a “cruel method” in the provisions of Article 8, (1) 1 and therefore it is difficult to apply this law.
The police are saying that it’s a good way to kill with minimum suffering, and therefore they decided that this way of killing is not cruel.
Then what is a cruel method? How should they be killed in order for it to be considered a cruel method?
Please write to the Busan Gijang Police and request a proper and thorough investigation of this case.
We must not just sit and watch this animal abuser set free.
Civil complaint to Police Call Center 182
Write to the Busan Gijang Police
Busan Gijang Police Email: [email protected]
Sign Petition!

Below are photos from this case.
There are many gruesome photos so we advise that you do not look at these photos if you are elderly, weak or have a fragile heart.

On the left there were many raised dog cages in rows, and the tent next to the freezer is the slaughterhouse.

This is the inside of the tent where the raised dog cages are. Although these cages are empty currently, it looks like there were dogs here in the summer time. According to the local residents, there were many dogs in this place but the number has been reduced recently.

Outside the slaughterhouse, these dogs helplessly wait for their death.

There’s a dog on a truck as well….

There’s a Malamute in another cage. They were being fed salty rotting food waste so the honorary animal protection inspector who accompanied us and we gave them water.

This one is trembling in fear in the corner.

We are not so sure what these are but it seems to be food waste collected to feed the dogs.

This is the slaughterhouse. You can see the sledge hammer and the butcher knife. Dogs are killed with this sledge hammer. And you all know what the butcher knife is for.

This is a fur removal rotating drum. We can guess how many dogs met their death here by the way fur is piled up high.

Blood stains everywhere…

And then there is this boiling pot. Can you guess what this is used for?

These are the finished products. They even make the dog elixirs (called “dog soju”) themselves. You can see the cauldrons too. You already know what those are used for.

We looked inside the freezer and this is what it looks like.

All these collars were piled up on the floor. How many dogs would have lost their lives here?

We made these observation during our visit in the afternoon. And then early in the dawn, we conducted a raid by staking out this place.

With the blowtorch lighted, what do you think they were doing?

There was this blowtorched body of a dog all burned to black…… The perpetrator admitted that he just killed him by a blow to the neck with a sledgehammer… He was in the middle of blowtorching him when he was caught. Could this be the dog that was in the truck? Or would it be the one that was trembling in fear in the corner? We are heartbroken with the images of the dogs that we saw in the afternoon running through our heads.

There’s still blood stain on the sledgehammer flowing on to the table.

Even with such a gruesome scene the police are saying that the Animal Protection Act is not applicable.
They told us that they consulted the Gijang-gun district office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Affairs and that they were told that the law cannot be applied in this case.
So we called these two government offices to verify and they both said that they did not talk to the police.
How cruel does the killing have to be in order to be defined as animal cruelty?
Please write to the Busan Gijang Police and demand a proper investigation of this case.
Civil complaint to Police Call Center 182
Write to the Busan Gijang Police
Busan Gijang Police Email: [email protected]

If we don’t take action, nothing will change.
Sign Petition!

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  1. Noushin Ghamarian
    Noushin GhamarianNovember 16,13

    we will support you guys till reach to our aim , god bless you

  2. ritva juutilainen
    ritva juutilainenNovember 16,13

    https://koreandogs.org/busan-gijanggun-sledge-hammer-blow-not-cruel-english/ SHAME ON KOREA ritva juutilainen retired finnair stewardess/purser flew for 34 years.

  3. Catherine Simpson
    Catherine SimpsonNovember 16,13

    HORRIBLE!!

  4. Heba Farahat
    Heba FarahatNovember 17,13

    i will pray you’ll have the same end!!!!!!!

  5. Elke
    ElkeNovember 17,13

    there is written : (3) No person shall commit any of the following offenses against an animal specified in Article 14 (1) 1 or 2:
    1. Catching and selling or killing such animal;

    What animals are mentioned in this Article 14 (1) 1 or 2 ????? Maybe this would also be a point to mention to the police ???

    Can you please just tell ???

  6. an stanga
    an stangaNovember 19,13

    Tears……………

  7. an stanga
    an stangaNovember 19,13

    tears…………..

  8. an stanga
    an stangaNovember 19,13

    Zo zo onmachtig boos rond heel deze toestanden…..mensen, wees aub niet selectief door dit niet te willen zien…..breng geen geld als vakantiedoel ginds……

  9. NATALIA
    NATALIANovember 24,13

    HELP PEAS ……………………… STOP

  10. Joanna
    JoannaNovember 27,13

    They should forbid not only killing animals, but eating of dogs’ and cats’ meat.
    I don’t understand how a man that lives in the 21th century can do something like that. These creatures, who do these things to dogs and cats are ugly and disgusting pervets. They are not human, they are “untermenschen” (as the fascist said). Only creatures with no hearts and no brains could do such things to dogs and cats. They are degenerated and degraded. The next step down of the human evolution is killing and eating each other. But for me it would be better. I wish these persons to be killed and eaten the same way. It is the shame for the whole country! Shame on you, South Korea!!! If you want your country to be regarded as a civilized modern country, you should stop this hell. It seems that this country lives in the stone age. And even then dogs were our friends, not food. How can a human with brains hurt a dog? – Only with perverted mind. These animals love people frankly and devoted, they trust us. Look at the eyes of these dogs, who are condemned to death, they feel fear, pain and despair. They trusted people, but we betrayed them.
    They belive that if an animal suffers before death, it’s meat would help to increase their potency (such a stupidity). And if some crazy people start saying that human meat increases potency, will you eat people then? I wish you all to be impotents, and nothing would help you!!! Such creatures should not be propagated. I wish all these perverts die of poisoning by dog meat!!! Let them all die in hellish, awful and painful tortures!!! Go to hell!!! Curse you!!!

    • ks
      ksJuly 9,17

      YES YES YES

  11. antje lange
    antje langeFebruary 10,14

    stopped,,,stopped….

    • Huong Pham
      Huong PhamDecember 17,14

      WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRY OF CHINA, WHEN THE LAWS OF PROTECTIONS INNOCENT LIVING BEINGS IS NOT CONSIDERED UNDER THEIR POLICY, THEY SUPPORT THIS CRUELTY SENSELESS EMBEDDED IN THEIR ROOTS FROM THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY, THEY RESIST FOR CHANGE, FOR BETTER HUMANITY, THEY THRIVED TO MAKE BLOODY MONEY REGARDLESS MORAL VALUES, THEY WILLING TO GO AGAINST THE MOVEMENTS OF CIVILIZATION IN THE WORLD, THEY ENJOY THEIR COPIE CATS OF TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS TO FEED THEIR SPOIED CHILDREN FOR THEIR OWN FAMILIES FROM EXPANSIVE CELL PHONES TO LUXURIES HOUSES VISA STUDENTS OVER SEAS BUT THEY HAVE NO CONCERN TO SHARE A LITLE FOOD TO FEED HOMELESS PEOPLE AND ANIMALS, ON THE STREETS THEY TURN THEM INTO THEIR FOOD AS WELL RATHER WILLIGN TO SHARE HUMAN FOOD AND MONEY TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN PETS AND THEY CREATED NIGHT MARE OF HORROR OF DOGS FOODS FUR TRADE BLOODY MARKETS TO DESTROY AND POLUTE OUR PLANET AND ENVIROMENTS IN THEIR OWN WAYS OF WHAT THEY CALLED TRADITION, RESITS FOR CHANGE EVEN FOR MERCY AND MORAL VALUES. THESE ARE SLOW LIFE SCUMBAGS OF 21ST CENTURY, IT IS WIDESPREAD AND SUPPORT BY CHINESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO PETS OR EVEN HAVE PETS, BUT GIVE A DAMN CARE FOR OTHERS PEOPLE PETS BECAUSE OF THEIR SELFISHNISH TO IGGORE OTHER SUFFERINGS, ONLY WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR OWN SUFFERING THEY MIGHT COMPLAINE. A COUNTRY WHO TREAT ANIMALS LIKE HELL ON EARTH IS NOT A COUNTRY OF MANKIND. IF THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO CHANGE THEIR POLICIES THEIR LAWS ENFORCEMENTS ON THIS HEART BREAKING SOCIAL PROBLEMS FOR ANIMALS THEN ALL WHAT I CAN WISH IS CHINA MAP SHOULD BE DISSAPPEAR AS WELL AS KOREA, VIETNAM THAILAND A BUNCH OF AISAN COUNTRIES CLINGING ON THEIR DOG MEAT TASTES. ONE DAMN MEAL REFUSE TO WASH THEIR SHAMEFUL FACES TO THE WORLD FOR ONE DAMN MEALS. THE TASTE OF FOOD THEY CANNOT LET IT OFF THEIR MENUE. I SEND THIS MESSAGE TO OTHER MEAT EATERS IN NORTH AMERICA TOO BECAUSE IF PEOPLE CANNOT GIVE UP THEIR FOOD CHOICES THEN THEY SUPPORT CRUELTY AS THIS CHINESE NATION, THE ONLY WORSER THAN IS DOGS AND CATS MEANS HUMAN BEST FRIENDS AND THESE ANIMALS ARE CHINESE PETS AS WELL.

  12. Brigitta kemfers
    Brigitta kemfersFebruary 28,14

    Stop it please

  13. ThomasB
    ThomasBMarch 18,14

    No one of this world has the right to kill an animal in any way or form.
    It’s bestialic, brutal and cruel to kill a dog with a sledgehammer. That could
    doing only heartless, stupid and unscrupulous monsters not humans who have
    feelings and a heart for our best friends.
    But all what such monsters doing to others (Dogs) will get the same or similar
    back in return. By the law of cause and effect, or like Jesus said,
    “What the human sow, the human will reap.

  14. val
    valApril 7,15

    I hope karma reaches them fast.

  15. Carrie K
    Carrie KMay 29,16

    Looks like a scene from a horror movie!

    • Palma Menno-Rice
      Palma Menno-RiceJune 26,16

      I can’t watch this horror. But I do sign all Petitions. And Share them to Facebook. It’s the only social network I have.

  16. kathleen sheehan
    kathleen sheehanJuly 9,17

    Yes, please name the manufacturers and web addresses of the fur removal drums. Maybe if we could contact more manufacturers of some of the items used in this atrocity we could attack this problem on other fronts!

  17. Ewa Perczak
    Ewa PerczakMay 5,21

    always the same question : how they can do that ? what’s wrong with them ? how can the government of this country allow this ? when I see the korean stuff , I think of DCMT… this is not a modern country, KIA or Samsung country but the FIRST EATEN DOG NATION and DCMT IS THEIR BIG STAIN !!
    they make me vomit ….

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