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Gokseong, South Korea, Shut down illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, markets, and restaurants.

Campaign updated on 2/1/2023.

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.

In Gokseong, 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.

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

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 Gokseong 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

Video: Appalling Reality of South Korea’s Illegal Dog Farms (불법 개농장 참혹한 현실 – 제보자들 20200610)

Video: The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea

Video: South Korea’s horrific dog slaughter. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE)

  1. Pauline Collins
    Pauline CollinsDecember 5,18

    Subject: Gokseong, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets.

    Petition: Gokseong, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets.
    https://www.change.org/p/gokseong-mayor-yu-geun-gi-gokseong-south-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-slaughterhouses-and-markets

    Dear Mayor Yu Geun-Gi and the Gokseong County Council members,

    Please watch this documentary, “The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea” https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY.

    We ask you to take immediate action to crack down on the illegal dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants that serve dog meat in your county. We request that an official document be issued, mandating that the following existing Korean laws be enforced by its government officials, police and judges:

    Unauthorized processing of food waste fed to dogs in the meat trade is a violation of Wastes Control Act, Article 15-2, Article 25, Section 3. Suppliers of food waste and transporters of food waste to dog meat farms are violating this regulation.

    Food waste fed to dogs in the dog meat trade is a violation of Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Section 1 & 2. Unauthorized collection of food waste and the act of feeding it to dogs in the meat trade is in violation of this regulation.

    Excrement and resulting environmental damage produced as a by-product of the illegal dog meat farm is a violation of Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Excreta Article 11. The excrement produced at dog meat farms causes environmental damage to the immediate and surrounding area.

    The act of slaughtering of dogs for human consumption is a violation of Animal Protection Act Article 8, Section 1, Clause 4. The act of slaughtering of a dog, without a justifiable ground – such as out of necessity for veterinary treatment, or in circumstances of immediate threat, harm or damage to human life or property, is a violation.

    The slaughter of dogs by electrocution is a violation of Animal Protection Act, Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1. Inflicting injury or death to any animal by the following means: battery by tools, exposure to drugs, exposure to extreme heat or fire, electrocution and drowning is subject to legal punishment. Therefore, the routine slaughter of dogs by butchers and farmers by these methods is in violation of the Act. Further, electrocution as a method of slaughter is internationally recognized as an inherently cruel method of slaughter and banned globally.

    Slaughter of dogs from unauthorized slaughterhouse is a violation of Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 7 Section 1. The Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, states that dogs are officially recognized and classified as “animals” that are “prohibited from being slaughtered and distributed as food for human consumption”. Therefore, those vendors operating dog slaughterhouses are operating outside of the parameters of the law and in violation of the law.

    Slaughter of dogs for his/her own consumption is a violation of Animal Protection Act, Article 10. The intent of the Act is to ensure that no animal is slaughtered in a cruel or revolting manner, and shall be free from unnecessary pain, fear, or stress during the process of slaughter. Therefore, only humane way of slaughtering dogs would be by euthanasia (lethal injection). All currently practiced methods of slaughter by butchers, farmers and traders excludes euthanasia as a method of slaughter, therefore they are all in breach of this Act. This is also a violation of Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act Article 7 Section 1 Clause 2. According to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, slaughter of animals for his/her own consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals that are publically announced as classification of livestock in the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act and dogs are not classified here.

    Display and sale of dog carcass in traditional outdoor markets is a violation of Food Sanitation Act, Article 4, 5. Violation of laws banning sale of harmful food due to the contamination from unsanitary and illegal slaughter of the animal and display of the dog carcass. For example, dog carcass are routinely contaminated by microorganisms that cause human diseases and food poisoning which can lead to serious and life threatening health complications. There are also strict laws which ban the sale of meat from sick animals, due to the fact that there is no quality control or formal monitoring of slaughter practices in the dog meat trade it is very likely that violation of these laws is happening routinely.

    Dog meat restaurants’ sale of dog meat soup made with dog carcass from an unknown source is a violation of Food Sanitation Act Article 44 Section 1 Clause 1. Uninspected livestock products must not be transported, stored, displayed, sold or used for manufacturing or processing of food for human consumption.

    Please refer to the legal information regarding the dog meat consumption in South Korea published by KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates): https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 http://koreandogs.org/kara-publishes-legal-information-booklet-ending-dog-meat-consumption/

    The United States House of Representatives has formally passed H.Res. 401, “Urging all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against such trade”. (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/401)

    International coverage of the brutal dog and cat meat trade in South Korea has stained your county’s image. The time to end this tragedy is now. The favor of your reply is requested.

    Sincerely,

    Pauline Collins
    Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador
    Canada

  2. Dikte Hanson
    Dikte HansonMay 25,19

    Stop the torture 🙏

  3. Diane Elford
    Diane ElfordAugust 20,20

    Stop this please no more animals killing for food

  4. Derek Johnson
    Derek JohnsonAugust 20,20

    Please don’t do that to dogs and cats. They need to be loved by a lovely family..
    Thanks

  5. Elliot George
    Elliot GeorgeAugust 20,20

    Do you really need to eat cats and dogs in the 21 century. Take a look at yourself.

  6. Pesi Unwalla
    Pesi UnwallaAugust 20,20

    Is this how a ‘civilized’ culture acts?

  7. Jim Taylor
    Jim TaylorAugust 23,20

    It is downright EVIL and those responsible should be sent to prison as this is a very serious crime against a living soul and must not be tolerated one single bit!!!!!!

  8. Dana Orságová
    Dana OrságováAugust 24,20

    please help and save all these dogs and cats !! help them, set them free !!

  9. Veronika Meyer-Zietz
    Veronika Meyer-ZietzFebruary 19,21

    stopp that cruelty. Put the resonsable humans in the same cages, forever.

  10. LUTETIA VOLLINTINE
    LUTETIA VOLLINTINEAugust 15,21

    I ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU VERONIKA THEY SHOULD BE DONE THE SAME WAY AND SEE HOW IT FEELS TO BE DONE LIKE THAT

  11. Lilia Birleson
    Lilia BirlesonAugust 15,21

    Shut down these illegal farms Now. Those that are involved in the brutal murder of defenceless animals should be prosecuted and imprisoned for there act of cruelty to animals.

  12. mizuki doro
    mizuki doroFebruary 13,23

    I write all this Mails and hope it changes something. All I see that I get blocked, olthough I am using my third email account 🙁
    This hell on earth has to stop. South Korea is a modern, civilized and rich country. There is no need in abusing Human’s best friend.
    Look everywhere from the world they are sending DOGS to Turkey to RESCUE HUMANS from this horrible earthquake.
    South Korea please stop this.

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