Blog

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 Hadong, 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

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

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Hadong’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 18 dog meat restaurants in the vicinity of Hadong.

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 Hadong 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 Hadong County Council members:
  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
• 📧 Send emails to the Gyeongsangnam-do 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]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [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 letters.
  

  Mayor Youn Sang-Ki
  Hadong County
  23 Guncheong-ro, Hadong-eup, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
  Postal Code 52333
  South Korea

  📬 Addresses in Korean:
  윤상기 하동군수님
  하동군청
  (52333) 경상남도 하동군 하동읍 군청로 23
  South Korea

  Hadong County Council
  23 Guncheong-ro, Hadong-eup, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
  Postal Code 52333
  South Korea

  Hadong County Council’s address in Korean:
  하동군의회
  (52333) 경상남도 하동군 하동읍 군청로 23
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook pages.
  

  Hadong
  Hadong Mayor
  Gyeongsangnam-do Government
  Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Kim Kyoung-Soo
  Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Council
  Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Council Chairwoman

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

  📝 Suggested message

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

  Petition: Hadong, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets.
  https://www.change.org/p/hadong-mayor-youn-sang-ki-hadong-south-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-slaughterhouses-and-markets

  Dear Mayor Youn Sang-Ki and the Hadong County 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 immediately stop the illegal dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, and restaurants serving 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 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 county’s image. The time to end this tragedy is now. The favor of your reply is requested.

  [Your Name & City/Country]

• Send a Twitter message!

  Suggested Twitter text

  .@okhadong .@gyeongnamdo .@opensky86 .@love_opensky86 Hadong, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets. https://www.change.org/p/hadong-mayor-youn-sang-ki-hadong-south-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-slaughterhouses-and-markets

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