Blog

Campaign updated on 11/16/2023.

Lakewood, Washington: Tell Sister City, Gimhae, South Korea, that you oppose the torture, killing, 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.

Gimhae became a Sister city to Lakewood, Washington on December 5, 2022.

In Gimhae, there are numerous 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.

Video: Dog slaughterhouses killing dogs with an electric iron skewer. Sick dogs neglect, dog carcasses fed to dogs, 53 dog farms discovered. ‘전기 꼬챙이’ 도살, 병든 반려견 방치. 개농장 53곳 무더기 적발. 6/22/21, TV Chosun News.. https://youtu.be/m_n_GPQPbmw

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Gimhae’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 dozens of Health Centers and dog meat restaurants in the vicinity of Gimhae.

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 in the vicinity of Gimhae 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 South Korea’s dog meat industry: https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY.

Gimhae, South Korea – “Living Hell” Dog meat farm distributes dogs for consumption.

Call for Action

• 📧 Send emails to the mayor and the city council members of Lakewood.

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

  📧 Send the CC (Carbon Copy) email to the Gimhae City Council, Gyeongsangnam-do Council, and the South Korean National Assembly members.

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• 📬 Send letters.

  Mayor’s Office
  City Hall
  6000 Main St. SW
  Lakewood, WA 98499
  USA

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to Gimhae Mayor:

  Mayor Hong Tae-yong
  Gimhae City Hall
  2401 Gimhae-daero(Buwon-dong), Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
  Postal Code 50924
  South Korea

  Gimhae Mayor’s address in Korean:

  홍태용 시장님
  김해시청
  50924 경상남도 김해시 김해대로 2401
  South Korea

📝 Suggested message

Lakewood, Washington: Please tell Sister City, Gimhae, South Korea, that you oppose the torture, killing, and consumption of dogs and cats.

Dear Mayor Jason Whalen and the Lakewood City Council members,

As representatives of Lakewood, we ask you to reconsider your Sister City agreement with Gimhae, a city that permits dogs and cats to be horribly abused and brutally killed for food.

While graphic, these videos depicting South Korea’s dog meat industry are important to watch:
Shocking Cruelty of South Korea’s Dog Meat Industry, Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
Part 2 of 2: https://vimeo.com/754160791
Forest fire in Uljin burns dogs imprisoned in dog meat farms: https://youtu.be/mh1lEGt2gjU
https://youtu.be/GLLeI_XFNPg
Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry: https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/
500 Dogs in typical hellish illegal dog farms in South Korea. https://koreandogs.org/ark119-raids-ganghwa-dog-farm/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcMPdOnJ0Vo (Dog farm scene begins at 11:00 minutes)

Gimhae has a large dog meat industry. There are numerous dog farms and dog slaughterhouses in Gimhae. Korean web searches of Gimhae turn up dozens of dog meat restaurants and so-called “Health Centers” that commonly serve soup made of dog meat as phony elixirs (also known as dog soju).

Dogs suffer their entire lives in filthy, feces-encrusted raised wire cages in dire misery only to be slaughtered in the most horrific of ways— tortured by electrocution, hammer strikes to their head, hanging, 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 South Korea, dogs are killed in full view of other 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 unfit for any animals to eat, and they are not given water. In addition, beloved pets are often stolen and sold to these slaughterhouses, where they meet the same horrific fate. Puppies who die of disease are tossed away like trash, often left in front of cages to rot while their mothers watch and cry out in despair.

Mayor Christopher Chung of Palisades Park, New Jersey, has already shown his rejection of the dog meat trade in no uncertain terms. As reported in the Korea Times, he recently rejected a visit from exchange students from the friendship city, Incheon Ganghwa County, due to its dog meat trade. In California, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting legislation or administrative action that would request the governments of South Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia ban the sale of dog meat and enforce their animal protection laws.

On behalf of companion animal-loving people worldwide, we ask that you follow these bold leads by not remaining silent in the face of such abhorrent cruelty. Please urge Gimhae Mayor Hong Tae-yong to shut down all Gimhae dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, dog meat restaurants, and truckers transporting dogs to their inevitable fates. An online petition calling for your support in ending such horrors perpetrated in Gimhae is in progress: https://chng.it/hXSRnHTCV5.

Thank you for your serious consideration. We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely,

Name, City, Country

• ☎️ Call the Lakewood mayor.

  (253) 983-7705, (253) 589-2489
  

  ☎️ 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, Gimhae, in South Korea.

  If I could explain, Gimhae’s massive dog meat industry is brutalizing and inflicting indescribable cruelty against the thousands of dogs 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. 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 Gimhae 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 Gimhae to urge them to enforce their laws, not ignore them, and to show compassion to their companion animals and respect to their citizens by bringing these trades to an end.

  This is the time to make a change; this is the time to stop the illegal, inhumane, and unnecessary cruelty. I know 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!
  .@gimhae4you .@gyeongnamdo .@CityofLakewood #Lakewood: Tell Sister City #Gimhae #SouthKorea, that you oppose the torture, killing, and consumption of #dogs #cats. #dogmeat #catmeat 😢 https://chng.it/hXSRnHTCV5 🐾https://koreandogs.org/gimhae-lakewood/