Blog

Mayor Anita Betancourt of Reedley: Tell Sister City, Tongyeong, South Korea, That We’re Opposed to the Torture and Consumption of Dogs and Cats.

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.

Tongyeong became Sister city with Reedley in 2004.

In Tongyeong, 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.

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Tongyeong’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 87 Health Food Centers; and 34 restaurants in the vicinity of Tongyeong.

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 Tongyeong to supply these outlets.

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

https://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];
• Send letter (Use the below-suggested message or petition):Mayor’s Office
  City of Reedley
  1733 9th Street
  Reedley, CA 93654
  USA

  Send a copy of your letter to Tongyeong Mayor Dong-Jin Kim:
  Mayor Dong-Jin Kim
  Tongyeong City Hall
  515, Tongyeonghaean-ro, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
  Postal Code 53040
  South Korea

  Address in Korean:
  김동진 시장님
  통영시청
  (53040) 경상남도 통영시 통영해안로 515(무전동)
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook page: Tongyeong

  Suggested email/letter/Facebook message

  Dear Mayor Betancourt and the City Council members,

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

  Do you think that Reedley should be a Sister city to any city that allows dogs and cats to be tortured and eaten? Please urge Tongyeong Mayor Dong-Jin Kim 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-anita-betancourt-of-reedley-tell-sister-city-tongyeong-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: (559) 637-4200, extension 212

  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, Tongyeong 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 Tongyeong 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

  .@twittongyeong .@gyeongnamdo Mayor Betancourt,Plz Urge Sister City Tongyeong, Korea-Stop torturing/eating dogs/cats https://goo.gl/SG7fK6

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