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Sister City Campaign – Cheongju, South Korea – Bellingham, Washington

📌 This campaign has been replaced with a new updated campaign. Click HERE to take action on the new campaign page.

[Update February 20, 2017]Supportive Bellingham Mayor responds to call to action against the dog meat trade.

Our thanks go out to Mayor Kelli Linville, of the City of Bellingham (Sister City with Cheongju, in South Korea) who responded to our campaign appeal to contact their Korean counterparts about the dog meat cruelty in that city.

Mayor Kelli wrote that she values the sister city relationship and is “a firm supporter of the humane treatment of animals”. Her email (shown below) goes on to state that she “will continue to build a peaceful relationship with Cheongju, with continued expression of my desire for humane treatment of people and animals alike.” Click HERE to learn more.

Mayor Kelli Linville of Bellingham: Tell Sister City, Cheongju, South Korea, That We’re Opposed to the Torture and Consumption of Dogs and Cats.

Cheongju Mayor Sung Hun Lee

Cheongju Mayor Sung Hun Lee

If you want to help fight the grisly South Korean dog and cat meat trade and make a difference in South Korea, here are a few quick actions you can take that could save millions of dogs and cats each year.

Cheongju became Sister city with Bellingham in 2008.

In Cheongju, there are countless dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, and restaurants where the dogs, who have been tortured their entire lives, end up being slaughtered in the most inhumane ways, such as by electrocution, hanging, or beating, and then thrown into boiling water – sometimes while they are still alive. In many places, dogs are being killed in full view of other terrified, caged dogs; and this takes place in public and in broad daylight. In addition, many abandoned and stolen former pets end up in this industry and are subject to the same cruelty.

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Health Food Center in Cheongju

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Cheongju’s dog meat demand.

Shown below are two search results on Naver (the most popular search engine in Korea) – the first one was for so-called “Health Food Centers” which commonly sell dog elixirs and cat elixirs (also known as dog soju and cat soju), and the second one was for “dog meat restaurants.”

The searches resulted in dozens of 364 Health Food Centers; and 123 restaurants in the vicinity of Cheongju.

Even if half of these ‘Health’ Food Centers and restaurants serve dog and cat ‘ingredients’ in one form or another, imagine how many dog/cat slaughterhouses must be present in the vicinity of Cheongju to supply these outlets.

Cheongju, South Korea – Bellingham, Washington Sister City Campaign

Cheongju, South Korea – Bellingham, Washington Sister City Campaign

There are laws in South Korea against selling dogs and cats for consumption, yet these laws are blatantly ignored.

Please watch the documentary on the South Korea’s dog meat industry: https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY

Video: The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea

http://koreandogs.org/meat-dogs-in-wire-cages-feed-on-rotten-food-waste-slops/

Call for Action

  • No matter where you live, please SIGN OUR PETITION
  • Send Email:
    [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
  • Send letter (Use the below-suggested message or petition):Office of the Mayor
    210 Lottie Street
    Bellingham, WA 98225
    USA

    Send a copy of your letter to Cheongju Mayor Sung-Hun Lee:
    Mayor Sung-Hun Lee
    Cheongju City Hall
    155 Sangdang-ro, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (Bukmoon-ro 3-ga)
    Postal Code 28542
    South Korea

    Address in Korean:
    이승훈 청주시장님
    청주시청
    [28542] 충청북도 청주시 상당구 상당로 155 (북문로3가)
    South Korea

  • Send a message through Facebook page: Bellingham
    Mayor Kelli Linville
    Cheongju

    Suggested email/letter/Facebook message

    Dear Mayor Linville and the City Council members,

    We ask you to please watch the videos of South Korea’s dog meat industry: https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY, http://koreandogs.org/horrible-reality-of-meat-dog-farms-you-did-not-know/

    Do you think that Bellingham should be a Sister city to any city that allows dogs and cats to be tortured and eaten? Please urge Cheongju Mayor Sung-Hun Lee to close down all those illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, markets, truckers, and restaurants that serve these animal products. An online petition calling for your support in ending the horrendous South Korean dog and cat meat cruelty is in progress: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-kelli-linville-of-bellingham-tell-sister-city-cheongju-korea-that-we-re-opposed-to-torture-consumption-of-dogs-cats
    The favor of your reply is requested.
    Thank you,

    [Your Name & City/Country]

  • Call the Mayor’s Office: Phone: (360) 778-8100
    Fax: (360) 778-8101

    Suggested phone message

    Hello, I’m calling to speak to someone in the Mayor’s Office to ask for their help on an important issue regarding your sister city, Cheongju in South Korea.

    If I could explain: dog-meat consumption is currently being practiced in that city, even though it is illegal under South Korean Law – but the laws are not enforced. The dog and cat meat trades involve extreme and widespread animal cruelty, and the animals suffer unimaginable pain and distress. They cannot speak for themselves which is why I am calling on their behalf. And, I believe that your city would wish to be made aware of this issue, as you would not want to be affiliated with a city where illegal and immoral torture is being carried out on any animal, and particularly not on ones that are loyal, trusting creatures, which look up to us humans as their guardians.

    These illegal trades are being allowed to continue by Korean authorities – even though there is growing opposition from pet owners across South Korea, and throughout the world.

    So, I am asking you to please speak with your counterparts in Cheongju to urge them to enforce their own laws, not ignore them, and to show compassion to their companion animals, and also respect to their own citizens, by bringing these trades to an end.

    With the Winter Olympics coming up in 2018, this is the time to make change; this is the time to stop the illegal, inhumane and unnecessary cruelty. I know that South Korea has many beautiful, admirable, and noble practices and customs worth preserving, but this is not one of them.

    Thank you for your time and understanding.

  • Send a Twitter message!

    Suggested Twitter text

    .@cjcitynet .@chungbuk21 .@CityofBhamWA Plz Urge Sister City Cheongju, Korea-Stop torture/consumption of dogs & cats https://goo.gl/m4SZ83

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No matter where you live, PLEASE SHARE these actions with your friends, especially those who live in Bellingham!

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