Blog

✳️ This campaign replaces our previous campaign.

Seattle: Tell Sister City, Daejeon, South Korea, that you oppose the torture 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.

Daejeon became a Sister City with Seattle, Washington, in 1989.

The “Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” was passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, mandating the cessation of all related operations. However, the dog meat trade has always been illegal, and despite this new legislation, there has been no change, and the situation remains dire for the dogs confined in dog farms across the country.

In Daejeon, 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 Daejeon’s dog meat demand.

Search results on Naver, the most popular search engine in Korea, revealed the prevalence of so-called “Health Centers” that often sell dog elixirs and cat elixirs, also known as dog soju and cat soju. Additionally, numerous listings for “dog meat restaurants” indicated a significant presence of such establishments in the Daejeon area.

Even if only half of these “Health” Centers and dog meat restaurants incorporate dog and cat “ingredients” in some form, the number of dog and cat farms and slaughterhouses required to supply these outlets is staggering.

There are laws in South Korea against selling dogs and cats for consumption, yet these laws are blatantly ignored.

Call for Action

• 📧 Send emails to the Mayor and the City Councilmembers of Seattle.

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  📧 CC (Carbon Copy) email to the Daejeon City Council and the South Korean National Assembly members.

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• 📬Send letters.

  Seattle City Council
  City Hall
  600 Fourth Ave.
  Seattle, WA 98104
  USA

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to the Daejeon Government.

  Mayor Lee Jang-woo
  City of Daejeon
  100 Dunsan-ro Seo-gu Daejeon
  Postal Code 35242
  South Korea

  Daejeon City Council
  100 Dunsan-ro Seo-gu Daejeon
  Postal Code 35242
  South Korea

  📬 Daejeon Government’s addresses in Korean:

  이장우 대전시장님
  대전시청
  (35242) 대전광역시 서구 둔산로 100
  South Korea

  대전시의회
  (35242) 대전광역시 서구 둔산로 100
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook pages.

  Seattle
  Daejeon
  Daejeon City Council

  📝 Suggested message

  Seattle City Council: Please tell Sister City, Daejeon, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

  Dear Mayor Harrell and Members of the Seattle City Council,

  As representatives of Seattle, we implore you to reconsider your Sister City agreement with Daejeon, South Korea, a city that permits dogs and cats to be horribly abused and brutally killed for food.

  While graphic, these undercover videos depicting South Korea’s dog meat industry are important to watch:
  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/

  Despite the passage of the “Special Bill to end the breeding, slaughter, and distribution of dogs for consumption and dog meat consumption” by South Korea’s National Assembly on January 9, 2024, which mandates all operations to cease, the situation remains dire. Dogs confined in dog farms in Daejeon and across South Korea continue to suffer immensely.

  Countless dogs endure unbearable conditions at the below dog farms in Daejeon.
  Daejeon Yuseong-gu Gyochon-dong 411-6
  Daejeon Seo-gu Jangan-ro 121-67
  Daejeon Seo-gu Uegeumgok-gil 32
  Daejeon Seo-gu Naegeumgok-gil 153-41
  Daejeon Seo-gu Hwanggol-gil 92-69
  Daejeon Seo-gu Oh-dong 150
  Daejeon Seo-gu Umyeong-dong 211-1
  Daejeon Seo-gu Jeungchon 1 gil 4-84
  Daejeon Seo-gu Jangjeon-gil 83-54
  Daejeon Seo-gu Jangjeon-gil 83-77
  Daejeon Seo-gu Oh-dong 16
  Daejeon Seo-gu Jangan-dong 218
  Daejeon Dong-gu Sangso-dong 620-1

  Daejeon has a large dog meat industry. Korean web searches 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, 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, moldy 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. The dog farms and slaughterhouses in Daejeon persist in violating multiple existing laws, but the Daejeon government’s response has been inadequate, reflecting a shameful indifference to animal suffering.

  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 Sister 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 animal lovers worldwide, we ask that you follow these bold leads by not remaining silent in the face of such abhorrent cruelty. Please urge Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-Woo to shut down all 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 Daejeon is in progress: https://chng.it/WM77Sz6pDz.

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

  Sincerely,

  [Your name, city, country]

• ☎️ Call the Seattle Mayor’s Office.
  Phone: (206) 684-4000

  ☎️ Suggested phone message

  I’m calling to speak with someone in the Mayor’s Office regarding an important issue related to your Sister City, Daejeon, in South Korea.

  I want to bring to your attention that dog meat consumption continues in Daejeon despite it being illegal under South Korean law. Unfortunately, these laws are not enforced. The dog and cat meat trades involve severe and widespread animal cruelty, causing the animals unimaginable pain and distress. As these animals cannot advocate for themselves, I am reaching out on their behalf. I believe your city would want to be informed of this situation, as you would likely not wish to be associated with a city where illegal and inhumane practices are ongoing, especially involving loyal and trusting animals that look to us as their protectors.

  Despite growing opposition from animal advocates in South Korea and around the world, these illegal trades persist, supported by insufficient action from local authorities.

  I kindly request that you discuss this matter with your counterparts in Daejeon, urging them to enforce their laws, show compassion towards their animals, and demonstrate respect for their citizens by ending these trades.

  South Korea has many beautiful and admirable traditions worth preserving, but this is not one of them.

  Thank you for your time and understanding.

• Post on X.

  Suggested X text

  .@DreamDaejeon .@daejeoncouncil .@CityofSeattle #Seattle Tell Sister City #Daejeon #SouthKorea that you oppose torture and consumption of #dogs #cats #dogmeat #catmeat https://chng.it/WM77Sz6pDz✊https://koreandogs.org/Daejeon-Seattle

Video: South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. KBS DIGITALNEWS LAB.

Video: In the dog meat farm, the Dog Meat Consumption Prohibition Law has no meaning for the tens of thousands remaining and puppies yet to be born. CARE.

No matter where you live, PLEASE SHARE these actions with your friends, especially those who live in Seattle!