Blog

[Update: September 28, 2017] Mayor Chiara Appendino of Turin kindly responds.

We received below response from the Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino. We are grateful to the Mayor and the City of Turin for responding to our petition so quickly and for their support of our campaign.

Below is our thank you email that we sent to the Mayor and the city council members of Turin on September 28, 2017:

Mayor Chiara Appendino of Turin: Tell Friendship City, Gwangju, South Korea, That We’re Opposed to 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.

Gwangju became Friendship city with Turin in 2002.

In Gwangju, 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 public and 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 Gwangju’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 403 Health Food Shops and 55 restaurants in the vicinity of Gwangju.

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 Gwangju to supply these outlets.

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

https://koreandogs.org/meat-dogs-in-wire-cages-feed-on-rotten-food-waste-slops/

Call for Action

• Send Email: Email addresses are removed because this campaign is now closed. 🙂
• Send letter (Use the below-suggested message or petition):Sindaca Chiara Appendino
  Comune di Torino
  Piazza Palazzo di Città, 1
  10122, Torino
  Italy

  Send a copy of your letter to Gwangju Mayor Jang-Hyun Yoon:
  Mayor Jang-Hyun Yoon
  Gwangju City Hall
  111 Naebang-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do
  Postal Code 61945
  South Korea
  South Korea

  Address in Korean:
  윤장현 광주시장님
  광주시청
  [61945] 광주광역시 서구 내방로 111
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook page:
  Turin
  Mayor Chiara Appendino
  Gwangju
  Mayor Jang-Hyun Yoon

  Suggested email/letter/Facebook message – In Italian

  Subject: Chiara Appendino, sindaco di Torino, Italia: dica alla città amica di Gwangju, Corea del Sud, che ci opponiamo alla tortura e consumo di cani e gatti.

  Gent.ma Signora Sindaco della Città di Torino Dott.ssa Chiara Appendino e Gent.mi Signori componenti del Consiglio Comunale di Torino.

  Vi chiedo cortesemente di guardare i seguenti video in merito al commercio della carne di cane in Sud Corea: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
  https://koreandogs.org/horrible-reality-of-meat-dog-farms-you-did-not-know/
  https://koreandogs.org/dmp/
  https://koreandogs.org/companion-animals-for-consumption/.

  E’ possibile che Torino possa sigillare un patto d’ amicizia con una città che permette di torturare i cani e i gatti per poi mangiarli?

  Vi prego di intervenire, chiedendo al Sindaco di Gwangju, Jang – Hyun Yoon, di chiudere tutti gli allevamenti e i macelli illegali di cani, i trasporti ed i ristoranti che servono questi prodotti animali. E’ on-line questa petizione per ottenere il Vostro supporto per mettere fine a questo orrendo e crudele commercio sudcoreano di carne di cane e di gatto: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-chiara-appendino-of-turin-italy-tell-friendship-city-gwangju-s-korea-that-we-re-opposed-to-the-torture-eating-of-dogs
  Grazie per un Vostro cortese riscontro.

  [Nome e Cognome – Città]

  Suggested email/letter/Facebook message

  Dear Mayor Appendino and the City Council members,

  We ask you to please watch the videos of South Korea’s dog meat industry: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
  https://koreandogs.org/horrible-reality-of-meat-dog-farms-you-did-not-know/
  https://koreandogs.org/dmp/
  https://koreandogs.org/companion-animals-for-consumption/.

  Do you think that Turin should be a Friendship city to any city that allows dogs and cats to be tortured and eaten? Please urge Gwangju Mayor Jang-Hyun Yoon to close down all those illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, markets, truckers, and restaurants that serve these animal products. An online petition calling for your support in ending the horrendous South Korean dog and cat meat cruelty is in progress: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-chiara-appendino-of-turin-italy-tell-friendship-city-gwangju-s-korea-that-we-re-opposed-to-the-torture-eating-of-dogs
  The favor of your reply is requested.
  Thank you,

  [Your Name & City/Country]

• Call the Mayor’s Office: 011 011 22961

  Suggested phone message

  Hello, I’m calling to speak to someone in the Mayor’s Office to ask for their help on an important issue regarding your Friendship city, Gwangju in South Korea.

  If I could explain: dog-meat consumption is currently being practiced in that city, even though it is illegal under South Korean Law – but the laws are not enforced. The dog and cat meat trades involve extreme and widespread animal cruelty, and the animals suffer unimaginable pain and distress. They cannot speak for themselves which is why I am calling on their behalf. And, I believe that your city would wish to be made aware of this issue, as you would not want to be affiliated with a city where illegal and immoral torture is being carried out on any animal, and particularly not on ones that are loyal, trusting creatures, which look up to us humans as their guardians.

  These illegal trades are being allowed to continue by Korean authorities – even though there is growing opposition from pet owners across South Korea, and throughout the world.

  So, I am asking you to please speak with your counterparts in Gwangju to urge them to enforce their own laws, not ignore them, and to show compassion to their companion animals, and also respect to their own citizens, by bringing these trades to an end.

  With the Winter Olympics coming up in 2018, this is the time to make change; this is the time to stop the illegal, inhumane and unnecessary cruelty. I know that South Korea has many beautiful, admirable, and noble practices and customs worth preserving, but this is not one of them.

  Thank you for your time and understanding.

• Send a Twitter message!

  Suggested Twitter text

  .@dodreamgwangju .@greenjeonnam .@twitorino .@c_appendino Plz Urge FriendshipCity Gwangju, Korea-Stop torturing dogs https://goo.gl/ckgsqu

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