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[Update September 10, 2017] County Executive Ike Leggett of Montgomery County responds to call to action against the dog meat trade.

We received an email response from County Executive Ike Leggett of Montgomery County, Maryland regarding our campaign. We had asked Montgomery County to take action against the dog meat trade in Goryeong-gun, South Korea. We are grateful to Mr. Leggett for responding to our concern so quickly and for supporting our campaign. He informed us that they have begun a review of the information we sent regarding the treatment of these animals and will forward their concerns and the information they have received to their Friendship City for comment. Click HERE to learn more.

[Update August 10, 2017] Councilmember Tom Hucker of Montgomery County responds to call to action against the dog meat trade.

We had received an email response from Councilmember Tom Hucker of Montgomery County, Maryland regarding our campaign. We asked Montgomery County to take action against the dog meat trade in Goryeong-gun, South Korea. We are grateful to Mr. Hucker for responding to our concern so quickly, and for expressing his support for our campaign. He informed us that he is “strongly opposed to animal cruelty both here and abroad”, and that he “will urge the County Executive to take a stand against animal cruelty”. Click HERE to learn more.

County Executive Ike Leggett of Montgomery County : Tell Friendship City, Goryeong-gun, 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.

Goryeong-gun became Friendship city with Montgomery County in 2015.

In Goryeong-gun, 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 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 Goryeong-gun’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 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 69 Health Food Shops and 15 restaurants in the vicinity of Goryeong-gun.

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

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

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

Call for Action

• Click below to send an online message to the Montgomery county executive and council members.
  County Executive Ike Leggett
• 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):County Executive’s Office
  Executive Office Building (EOB)
  101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor
  Rockville, MD 20850
  USA

  Send a copy of your letter to Goryeong-gun Mayor Yong-Hwan Kwak:
  Mayor Yong-Hwan Kwak
  Goryeong-gun Office
  55 Wangleung-ro, Daegaya-eup, Goryeong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do
  Postal Code 40138
  South Korea

  Address in Korean:
  곽용환 고령군수님
  고령군청
  (40138) 경상북도 고령군 대가야읍 왕릉로 55
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook page:
  Montgomery County
  County Executive Ike Leggett
  Goryeong-gun

  Suggested email/letter/Facebook message

  Dear County Executive Leggett and the County Council members,

  We ask you to please watch the videos of South Korea’s dog meat industry: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
  https://koreandogs.org/horrible-reality-of-meat-dog-farms-you-did-not-know/
  https://koreandogs.org/dmp/
  https://koreandogs.org/companion-animals-for-consumption/.

  Do you think that Montgomery County should be a Friendship city to any city that allows dogs and cats to be tortured and eaten? Please urge Goryeong-gun Mayor Yong-Hwan Kwak 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/county-executive-ike-leggett-of-montgomery-county-tell-friendship-city-goryeong-gun-korea-that-we-re-opposed-to-torture-eating-of-dogs
  The favor of your reply is requested.
  Thank you,

  [Your Name & City/Country]

• Call the County Executive’s Office: Phone: (240) 777-0311
  Fax: (240) 777-2517

  Suggested phone message

  Hello, I’m calling to speak to someone in the County Executive’s Office to ask for their help on an important issue regarding your Friendship city, Goryeong-gun in South Korea.

  If I could explain: dog-meat consumption is currently being practiced in that county, 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 county would wish to be made aware of this issue, as they would not want to be affiliated with a county 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 Goryeong-gun 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

  .@gayadori .@gyeongsangbukdo .@MontgomeryCoMD Exec Leggett Plz Urge FriendshipCity Goryeong, Korea-Stop killing dogs https://goo.gl/jt1rnJ

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