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Bologna, Italy: Tell your Friendship City, Seongnam, South Korea, that you oppose 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.

Seongnam became a Friendship City with Bologna, Italy, in 2015.

Moran Market in Seongnam is the largest dog meat market in South Korea. In Seongnam, 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.

LCA/ALW’s 5-month Investigation into Seongnam Moran Market Exposes the Ongoing Cruelty of the Dog Meat Trade

Photo: Dog slaughterhouse in Taepyeong-dong, Seongnam, CARE.

Video: Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. jtbc News.[추적보도 훅] 철창 갇힌 채 감전사…’먹히기 위해’ 죽어가는 개들 / JTBC 뉴스룸

Five animal rights organizations, including ARK119, together held an Anti-Dog Meat Protest at the Seongnam Moran Dog Meat Market (the largest dog meat market in South Korea) on July 9, 2022.

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

Two searches on Naver (the most popular search engine in Korea) – 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” – resulted in hundreds of Health Centers and dog meat restaurants in Seongnam.

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 Seongnam to supply these outlets.

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

Call for Action

• 📧 Send emails to the mayor and the Bologna City Council members.

  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];

  Send the CC (Carbon Copy) email to the Seongnam Council, the South Korean National Assembly and Gyeonggi-do Assembly members:

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• 📬 Send letters (Use the below-suggested message or petition):

  Al Sig. Sindaco Matteo Lepore
  Comune di Bologna, Piazza Maggiore
  6 – 40124 Bologna
  Italy

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to Seongnam mayor and city council:

  Mayor Shin Sang-jin
  City of Seongnam
  997 Seongnam-daero, Joongwon-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do
  Postal Code 13437
  South Korea

  Seongnam City Council
  997 Seongnam-daero, Joongwon-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do
  Postal Code 13437
  South Korea

  📬 Seongnam’s addresses in Korean:

  신상진 성남 시장님
  성남시청
  (13437) 경기도 성남시 중원구 성남대로 997
  South Korea

  성남시의회
  (13437) 경기도 성남시 중원구 성남대로 997
  South Korea

Suggested message

Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore: Tell your Friendship City, Seongnam, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

Dear Mayor Matteo Lepore and Bologna City Council members:

We sincerely invite you to watch a video from a rally held at the Moran Dog Meat Market in your Friendship City, Seongnam, on July 11th to protest against the horrific and barbaric dog and cat meat industry. https://youtu.be/U6MSU8d9hHw

Animal advocates in South Korea are desperately pleading for your help shutting down Seongnam’s massive dog meat industry. Would you please lend your voice and help to put a stop to this cruel and illegal industry?

We ask you to please watch the undercover videos from South Korea’s dog meat industry:
Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
Part 2 of 2: https://vimeo.com/754160791
Moran Market in Seongnam is the largest dog meat market in South Korea. Please watch what happens in Seongnam Moran Dog Meat Market every day: https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/.

Please watch the animal rights organizations’ rally to stop the dog meat industry at the Seongnam Moran Dog Meat Market on July 9, 2022: https://youtu.be/U6MSU8d9hHw

Do you think Bologna should be a Friendship City to any city that allows dogs and cats to be tortured and eaten by people?

Seongnam is the largest dog meat supplier city in South Korea. There are numerous dog meat markets, shops, farms, dog slaughterhouses, dozens of dog meat restaurants, and so-called “Health Centers” serving soup made of dog meat as an elixir. Dogs suffer their entire lives in filthy, feces encrusted raised wire cages in utter misery, only to be slaughtered in the most horrific ways. They are killed by electrocution, hammer strikes to their head and necks, being hung, being beaten to death, having their throats slit, being burned alive with a blowtorch, or thrown into a vat of boiling water while still alive. In many places in Seongnam, dogs are killed in full view of other terrified, caged dogs who tremble with terror. These poor dogs are often burned alive in their cages, unable to escape. They are fed rotten garbage full of chili peppers not fit for any animals to eat, and they are never given water! Also, people’s beloved pets are often stolen and sold to these businesses, where they meet the same horrific fate. Dogs and puppies who died of diseases are tossed away like garbage, often left in front of cages to rot while the mother dogs watch and cry out in despair for their dead babies.

The Korean internet searches resulted in dozens of Health Centers which commonly sell dog/cat elixirs (also known as dog soju and cat soju) and dog meat restaurants in Seongnam.

Would you please urge Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin to close down all illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, markets, truckers, and restaurants that serve their products? An online petition calling for your support in ending the horrendous dog and cat meat cruelty in Seongnam is in progress: https://chng.it/4Mvsj8ZD.

On behalf of all the animals suffering unimaginable cruelty in the dog and cat meat industry, we thank you and await your reply.

Sincerely,

Suggested message in Italian

Al Sig. Sindaco Matteo Lepore e ai componenti del Consiglio Comunale di Bologna: Dite alla vostra città gemellata, Seongnam, in Corea del Sud, che siete contrari alla tortura e all’uso alimentare di cani e gatti.

Spettabile Sindaco Lepore e componenti del Consiglio Comunale di Bologna:

Vi invitiamo caldamente a guardare questo video della manifestazione contro l’orrenda e barbarica industria della carne di cane e gatto, tenuta l’11 luglio u.s. al mercato Moran di carne di cane, nella città di Seongnam con voi gemellata: https://youtu.be/U6MSU8d9hHw

I difensori degli animali in Corea del Sud chiedono disperatamente il vostro aiuto per chiudere la grossa industria della carne di cane di Seongnam. Potreste per favore prestare la vostra voce e aiutare a porre fine a questa industria crudele ed illegale?

Vi chiediamo cortesemente di guardare i video sull’industria della carne di cane della Corea del Sud:
Crudeltà scioccante dell’industria della carne di cane sudcoreana, parte 1 di 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
Parte 2 di 2: https://vimeo.com/754160791
Il Moran Market di Seongnam è il più grande mercato di carne di cane della Corea del Sud. Vi preghiamo di guardare cosa accade ogni giorno in quel mercato di carne di cane: https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/

Avviso di azione urgente! Un incendio boschivo a Uljin brucia i cani imprigionati negli allevamenti di carne di cane: https://koreandogs.org/uljin-fire/

Si prega di guardare la manifestazione delle organizzazioni per i diritti degli animali per fermare l’industria della carne di cane al mercato della carne di cane di Seongnam Moran il 9 luglio 2022: https://youtu.be/U6MSU8d9hHw

Ritenete che Bologna debba essere una città gemellata con una qualche città che permetta a cani e gatti di essere torturati e mangiati dalle persone?

Seongnam è il più grosso centro di produzione di carne di cane in Corea del Sud. La carne di cane viene commercializzata in innumerevoli mercati, negozi, allevamenti e mattatoi; in dozzine di ristoranti, ed in cosidetti “Centri Sanitari”, dove costituisce la base di zuppe servite come elisir. I cani soffrono per tutta la vita in sudice gabbie di filo metallico, incrostate di feci e sollevate da terra, in condizioni assolutamente miserande, solo per essere massacrati nei modi più orribili.

Essi vengono uccisi mediante folgorazione, colpi di martello alla testa e al collo, impiccati, picchiati a morte, sgozzati, bruciati vivi con una fiamma ossidrica o gettati in una vasca di acqua bollente mentre sono ancora vivi. In molti luoghi di Seongnam, i cani vengono uccisi in piena vista di altri cani atterriti e stipati in piccole in gabbie che tremano di terrore. Questi poveri cani vengono spesso bruciati vivi nelle loro gabbie, incapaci di scappare. Vengono alimentati con rifiuti in decomposizione pieni di peperoncino, cibo inadatto per qualsiasi animale, e non ricevono acqua!

Inoltre, animali domestici amati dalle persone vengono spesso rubati e venduti a queste attività, dove incontrano lo stesso orribile destino. Cani e cuccioli morti di malattie vengono gettati via come spazzatura, spesso lasciati davanti alle gabbie a marcire mentre le cagne madri guardano e gridano disperate per i loro cuccioli morti.

Ricerche su Internet in Corea hanno evidenziato dozzine di Centri Sanitari che vendono comunemente elisir di cani o gatti (noti anche come dog soju e cat soju) e ristoranti di carne di cane a Seongnam.

Vorreste per favore esortare il sindaco di Seongnam, il Sig. Shin Sang-jin, a fermare l’attività illegale di tutti gli allevamenti e dei macelli di cani, dei mercati, dei trasportatori e dei ristoranti che servono i loro prodotti? È in corso una petizione online che chiede il vostro sostegno per porre fine all’orrenda crudeltà della carne di cani e gatti a Seongnam: https://chng.it/4Mvsj8ZD.

A nome di tutti gli animali che subiscono una crudeltà inimmaginabile nel settore della carne di cane e gatto, vi ringraziamo in anticipo e restiamo in attesa della vostra risposta.

Distinti saluti,

• ☎️ Call the Bologna Mayor’s office: (calling from the USA)
  ☎️ +011-39-051-2194279
  ☎️ +011-39-051-2193096
  ☎️ +011-39-051-2193113
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 Friendship City, Seongnam, 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, so 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 affiliate 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.

This illegal industry is being allowed to continue by Seongnam authorities – even though there is growing opposition from pet guardians across South Korea and worldwide.

So, I am asking you to please speak with your counterparts in Seongnam to urge them to enforce their laws, not ignore them, show compassion to their companion animals, and respect their citizens by bringing this cruel industry to an end.

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!
  .@seongnamcity .@ggholic .@comunebologna Tell Friendship City #Seongnam #SouthKorea that you are opposed to the torture and consumption of #dogs #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 😭 https://chng.it/4Mvsj8ZD😿 https://koreandogs.org/Friendship-city-Seongnam-Bologna/

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