Gwangju Dong-gu, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants.

posted by KoreanDogs.org team on April 1,2019 in Action Alert, Campaign

Gwangju Dong-gu Mayor Lim Taek

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 Gwangju Dong-gu District, 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.

Video: The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Gwangju Dong-gu’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 41 Health Food Shops and 16 dog meat restaurants in and within the vicinity of Gwangju Dong-gu.

Even if half of these ‘Health’ Centers and restaurants serve dog and cat ‘ingredients’ in one form or another, just imagine how many dog/cat slaughterhouses must be present in and within the vicinity of Gwangju Dong-gu 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

👉 Click HERE to file a petition with the South Korean government through e-People online. (You can use our “Suggested message” below or your own words.)
📌 Need help with the e-People petition? Click HERE for instructions.

📧 Send emails to the Gwangju Dong-gu Council members:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];

📧 Send emails to the Gwangju 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 letter:
District Mayor Lim Taek
Gwangju Dong-gu Government
1 Seonam-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju
Postal code 61466
South Korea

Address in Korean:
임 택 광주 동구청장님
광주광역시 동구청
(61466) 광주광역시 동구 서남로 1
South Korea

Gwangju Dong-gu Council
1 Seonam-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju
Postal code 61466
South Korea

Address in Korean:
광주광역시동구의회
(61466) 광주광역시 동구 서남로 1
South Korea

Send a message through Facebook pages.

Gwangju Dong-gu
Gwangju Dong-gu District Mayor
Gwangju
Gwangju Mayor
Gwangju City Council

🇰🇷Click HERE for the Korean translation of the suggested message which you can then add to your letter.🇰🇷

📝 Suggested message

Subject: Gwangju Dong-gu, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants.

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/gwangju-dong-gu-district-mayor-lim-taek-gwangju-dong-gu-s-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants

Dear District Mayor Lim Taek and the Gwangju Dong-gu Council members,

Please watch these documentaries, “The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea” (https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY) and “Korea’s Dog Cruelty: Dogs Are Innocent.” (https://youtu.be/qIFAI9uyx64).

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 District. 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 violates the 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 violates the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Sections 1 & 2. The unauthorized collection of food waste and feeding it to dogs in the meat trade violates this regulation.

Excrement and resulting environmental damage produced as a by-product of the illegal dog meat farm violates the 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.

Slaughtering dogs for human consumption violates the Animal Protection Act Article 8, Section 1. Killing an animal by hanging it by the neck or by using any other cruel methods; killing an animal on the street or any other places open to the public or killing an animal with animals of the same kind present at the scene; killing an animal by failing to feed or water it on purpose; killing an animal without any justifiable grounds is clear violation of the Animal Protection Act.

The slaughter of dogs by electrocution violates the Animal Protection Act, Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1. Inflicting an injury to animals by physical or chemical means, such as tools or drugs, is subject to legal punishment. Therefore, the routine slaughter of dogs by butchers and farmers by these methods violates the Act. (Penalty: imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won per Article 46 of the Animal Protection Act.) Further, electrocution as a method of slaughter is internationally recognized as an inherently cruel method of slaughter and banned globally. In Korea, the Supreme Court in 2020 convicted a case of slaughtering a dog using an electric iron skewer.

The slaughter of dogs from an unauthorized slaughterhouse violates the 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. (Penalty: imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 100 million won per Article 45 of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act.)

The slaughter of dogs for consumption violates the Animal Protection Act, Article 10. The Act intends 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 slaughter process. Therefore, the only humane way of slaughtering dogs would be by euthanasia (lethal injection). All currently practiced methods of slaughter by butchers, farmers and traders exclude euthanasia as a method of slaughter. Therefore, they are all in breach of this Act. This is also a violation of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act Article 7 Section 1 Clause 2. According to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, the slaughter of animals for their consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals publicly announced as livestock classification in the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act and dogs are not classified here.

The display and sale of dog carcasses in traditional outdoor markets violate the Food Sanitation Act, Article 4, 5. Violation of laws banning the sale of harmful food due to the contamination from the unsanitary and illegal slaughter of the animal and display of the dog carcass. For example, dog carcasses are routinely contaminated by microorganisms that cause human diseases and food poisoning, leading to severe and life-threatening health complications. There are also strict laws that ban the sale of meat from sick animals. Because there is no quality control or proper monitoring of slaughter practices in the dog meat trade, likely, these laws are routinely violated.

Dog meat restaurants’ sale of dog meat soup made with dog carcasses from an unknown source violates the Food Sanitation Act Article 44 Section 1 Clause 1. Uninspected livestock products must not be transported, stored, displayed, sold, or used to manufacture or process food for human consumption.

Dog meat consumption is a catastrophe brought about by the government’s inaction. Here are reasons why dog meat consumption is illegal.
Breeding: https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/16556
Slaughter: https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/19677

The United States House of Representatives has formally passed H.Res. 401, “Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry and urges all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat 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 District’s image. The time to end this tragedy is now. An online petition calling for your immediate action to end the horrendous South Korean dog and cat meat cruelty is in progress: https://www.change.org/p/gwangju-dong-gu-district-mayor-lim-taek-gwangju-dong-gu-s-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants The favor of your reply is requested.

[Your Name & City/Country]

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.@gjdonggu .@limtaek.@dodreamgwangju .@Yongsuplee Gwangju, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets. https://www.change.org/p/gwangju-dong-gu-district-mayor-lim-taek-gwangju-dong-gu-s-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants