A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in South Korean Wildfires (Friendship Province: Gangwon Province & Illinois)

posted by KoreanDogs.org team on May 25,2025 in Action Alert, Break the Chains, Forest fire, Friendship City, South Korea

Despite the revised Animal Protection Act of 2023, South Korea continues to allow the cruel practice of lifelong tethering, often with chains far shorter than the supposed two-meter minimum. Weak enforcement leaves countless “rural dogs” to suffer in filth, neglect, and isolation, treated as mere property.

Tragically, this systemic neglect results in horrific deaths during disasters like the recent wildfires. Helpless dogs, chained and caged, are left to burn alive as their owners evacuate, abandoning their loyal companions to unimaginable agony. This is not mere indifference but a callous betrayal that stains South Korea’s conscience.

With its inadequate leash length and poor enforcement, the revised law fails to protect these animals. Lifelong tethering must be banned outright.

We demand immediate action:
• Enact and strictly enforce a complete ban on lifelong tethering.
• Drastically strengthen enforcement of animal welfare laws with severe penalties for neglect.
• Mandatory disaster evacuation protocols must unequivocally require the evacuation of all dogs alongside their human guardians, forbidding any dog from being left tethered or confined during evacuations.

We urge the Friendship Cities of South Korea to take a stand against this cruelty. Their partnerships cannot ignore the horrific reality of dogs chained and left to burn alive. We ask them to contact their counterparts in South Korea and demand meaningful laws to protect dogs, including a ban on tethering and mandatory pet evacuation during emergencies.

The world is watching. South Korea must move beyond ineffective minimum standards and implement real change to end this unimaginable suffering. Demand action now.

The horrific April 2019 Gangwon-do wildfire in South Korea, which caused a national emergency and the evacuation of 4,000 people, resulted in the tragic deaths of countless chained and caged animals who burned in the flames. CARE.

Video: Amidst the devastating South Korean wildfires that killed many and destroyed homes, junior dogs who escaped a burning dog farm were found by CARE, demonstrating incredible loyalty by staying together despite severe burns and starvation, highlighting the tragic abandonment of countless animals and the urgent need for improved animal welfare.
Amidst the Inferno: Junior Dogs Found and Rescued, Clinging to Each Other.🐾🐾 CARE

✍🏼 Sign the Petition

Call for Action

👉 📧 Click HERE to send an online message to the Governor of Illinois.

For “Assistance Type?”, select “Other.”

👉 📧 Email the Office of the Governor of Illinois, the Gangwon Provincial Council, and the National Assembly of South Korea.

👉 📬 Mail the letter.

Office of the Governor
401 S. Spring St.
Springfield, IL 62704
USA

📬 Send a copy of your letter to Gangwon Province:

Governor Kim Jin-tae
Gangwon-do Province
1 Joongang-ro, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do
Postal Code 24266
South Korea

Gangwon-do Provincial Council
1 Joongang-ro, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do
Postal Code 24266
South Korea

📬 Gangwon Province address in Korean:

김진태 도지사님
강원도청
(24266) 강원도 춘천시 중앙로 1
South Korea

강원도의회
(24266) 강원도 춘천시 중앙로 1
South Korea

📝 Suggested message

URGENT GLOBAL OUTCRY: End Cruel Lifelong Tethering and the Repeated, Horrific Deaths of Dogs in Wildfires in Illinois’s Friendship Province of Gangwon

Dear Governor JB Pritzker and Esteemed Representatives of Illinois,

I am writing with urgency and outrage regarding the unspeakable cruelty of lifelong tethering of dogs in your Friendship Province, Gangwon, South Korea, and the catastrophic consequences this practice has during wildfires. We value the Friendship Province relationship and urge your immediate, principled action in response to this international animal welfare crisis.

The barbaric practice of lifelong tethering—often using chains shorter than three feet—results in chronic neglect and suffering, leaving countless sentient beings defenseless during natural disasters. Tragically, repeated wildfires in South Korea have led to horrific, preventable deaths of tethered dogs who were unable to escape. This reflects a deeply disturbing lack of compassion in some segments of Korean society toward the agony of these loyal animals.

Witness this brutal reality (Warning: Graphic content in the following videos):

These loyal creatures are deliberately left chained during evacuations and condemned to be burned alive. This recurring horror, fueled by inadequate laws, insufficient emergency preparedness, and a shocking disregard for their suffering, demands immediate and forceful international condemnation.

As leaders of a Friendship State to Gangwon Province, you have a powerful platform for ethical advocacy. We implore you to recognize the moral imperative of ending this cruelty and preventing further suffering. Decisive action on the international level is crucial.

Therefore, we respectfully urge you to:

1. STRONGLY CONDEMN the practice of lifelong tethering and the repeated, devastating immolation of dogs in Gangwon Province during wildfires. Publicly denounce the lack of compassion that allows this to persist.

2. IMMEDIATELY REACH OUT to your counterparts in Gangwon Province to express profound global outrage. Emphasize that the continued failure to ban tethering and protect animals during wildfires threatens South Korea’s international reputation.

3. URGE THE LEADERSHIP OF GANGWON PROVINCE to enact critical animal protection reforms by working with the national government to:

Implement an immediate and strictly enforced ban on lifelong tethering.
Establish and enforce mandatory evacuation protocols that include all companion animals.
Launch public awareness campaigns promoting responsible pet guardianship.
Introduce stronger penalties for neglect and abandonment, particularly during disasters.

4. OFFER YOUR STATE’S EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES to help Gangwon Province develop robust animal welfare standards (including a tethering ban) and comprehensive emergency preparedness measures.

The continued cruelty of lifelong tethering and the repeated, horrific deaths of dogs in South Korean wildfires represent a profound moral failing. As a Friendship State, Illinois has a unique and urgent opportunity—and responsibility—to act. These sentient beings deserve to live free from chains and the terror of preventable, horrific death. We call on you to take decisive, compassionate action on the global stage.

An online petition urging your support is underway: https://chng.it/mTdhcjLpsJ. We implore you to treat this issue with the urgency and seriousness it demands, showing true leadership in the cause of animal welfare.

Sincerely,

[Your name, city, country]

👉 Post on X and Bluesky.

A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in South Korean Wildfires Friendship State: Gangwon Province & Illinois #BanDogTetheringKorea #EndDogChainingKorea #AnimalWelfareKorea ✍️https://chng.it/mTdhcjLpsJ✊https://koreandogs.org/a-plea-for-compassion-Gangwon-Illinois/👉🏽Join FB https://www.facebook.com/BanTether/

👉 Join the effort! Click HERE and HERE for more ways you can help.

Video: Photo: Left chained to farm equipment as a wildfire engulfed her village in South Korea, Bbibbi, a year-old puppy, was found barely alive with severe burns after her owner abandoned her, highlighting a critical lack of empathy and inadequate animal protection laws. 💔 Chained in the Fire, Left to Burn Alive: Bbibbi’s Will to Survive 🐾

Video: Daan spent three agonizing years tied to a tree, enduring harsh weather, malnutrition, and blindness with no love or shelter, until he was finally rescued—too late to regain his health but given a chance to experience kindness. Despite medical care and a brief time in a safe space, he passed away, leaving behind a heartbreaking reminder of the cruelty animals endure and a plea for compassion toward all sentient beings. To learn more, click 👉 HERE, HERE, HERE.

Video:Dogs trapped by their leashes in the flames… The devastating aftermath of the massive Gangwon wildfire: shocking trauma and injuries inflicted upon puppies in the frantic attempt to escape. 불길 속에서 목줄을 끊을 수 없던 개들도…” 강원도 대형 산불의 여파, 다급한 상황에서 강아지들이 겪었을 충격적인 상처들 │#왜그러냥귀엽개 [EBS] There Are No Bad Dogs in the world.

Categories: Action Alert, Break the Chains, Forest fire, Friendship City, South Korea