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Utah: Tell your Sister State, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, that you are opposed to the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

✳️ This campaign replaces our previous campaign.

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.

Gyeonggi Province became a Sister State with Utah in 1983.

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 Gyeonggi province, 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.

Video: Six hundred dogs suffer at a dog farm operated by a Korean Dog Farmers Association official in Yeoju. On March 3rd, the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), CatchDog, and Sniper Anttol teams raided this large dog farm in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. CARE Part 1.

Video: Dogs who suffered their entire lives are electric tortured and killed in cages—South Korea’s horrific dog meat industry. jtbc News.[추적보도 훅] 철창 갇힌 채 감전사…’먹히기 위해’ 죽어가는 개들 / JTBC 뉴스룸

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Gyeonggi Province’s dog meat demand.

Two searches on Naver (the most popular search engine in Korea) – one was for so-called “Health Centers” that commonly sell dog elixirs and cat elixirs (also known as dog soju and cat soju), and the second one was for “dog meat restaurants” – resulted in hundreds of Health Centers and dog meat restaurants in Gyeonggi Province.

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 Gyeonggi Province 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 send an online message to the governor of Utah.
📌 Please note: All communications received by or sent to the Office of the Governor are public records subject to the Government Records Access and Management Act. Please be aware that information sent to the Office may not be able to be classified as private or protected. See Utah Code 63G-2-103(21). https://governor.utah.gov/contact/.

What does this mean? Public records, 63G-2-103(21):A public record is a record that is not private, controlled, or protected and that is not exempt from disclosure; therefore, all records are public unless expressly restricted by law. If someone requests a copy of your letter to the governor, it will be sent to the requestor. Your letter will NOT be published online by the state of Utah.
• 📧 Click HERE to send an online message to the Lt. governor of Utah.
• 📧 Send emails to the Governor’s office.

  constituentservices@utah.gov;

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

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• 📬 Send letters.

  The Office of Gov. Spencer J. Cox
  350 N. State Street, Suite 200
  P.O. Box 142220
  Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2220
  USA

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to Gyeonggi Province:
  Governor Kim Dong-yeon
  Gyeonggi Province
  30 Docheong-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do
  Postal Code 16508
  South Korea

  📬 Gyeonggi Province’s address in Korean:
  김동연 경기도지사님
  경기도청
  (16508) 경기도 수원시 영통구 도청로 30
  South Korea

📝 Suggested message

Utah: Please tell your Sister State, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

Dear Governor Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson,

As representatives of Utah, we implore you to reconsider your Sister State agreement with Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, a province 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 Gyeonggi Province and across South Korea continue to suffer immensely.

For example, six hundred dogs are horribly abused at a dog farm in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, operated by officials of the Korean Dog Farmers Trade Association. Thousands of dogs endure unbearable conditions at a massive dog farm in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, operated by a former Korean Dog Farmers Trade Association president. These and numerous other dog farms and dog slaughterhouses in Gyeonggi Province continue to operate in violation of multiple existing laws. For their entire lives, dogs are confined to cramped wire cages raised off the ground, depriving them of the ability even to turn around. They never experience what it’s like to stand on solid ground.

With limited resources, animal advocates tirelessly investigate legal violations, file complaints, and pressure governments to enforce laws and shut down illegal dog farms. However, the government has the primary responsibility for enforcement, and its response has been inadequate, demonstrating a shameful indifference to animal suffering.

Gyeonggi Province is the largest dog meat supplier and consumption province in South Korea. There are numerous dog farms and dog slaughterhouses in Gyeonggi Province. Korean web searches turn up hundreds 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.

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 friendship 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 companion animal-loving people worldwide, we ask that you follow these bold leads by not remaining silent in the face of such abhorrent cruelty. Please urge Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon 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 South Korea is in progress: https://chng.it/tJZfW6wg.

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

Sincerely,

[Your name, city, country]

• ☎️ Call the Utah’ Governor’s office: 801-538-1000
  Toll Free: 800-705-2464
Suggested phone message

Hello, I’m calling to speak to someone in the Governor’s Office to ask for their help on an important issue regarding your Sister State, Gyeonggi Province, in South Korea.

If I could explain, Dog meat consumption is currently being practiced in that province, 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, so I am calling. I believe that your State would wish to be made aware of this issue, as you would not want to affiliate with a province where illegal and immoral torture is being carried out on any animal, particularly not on ones that are loyal, trusting creatures, which look up to us humans as their guardians.

Gyeonggi Province authorities are allowing this illegal industry to continue despite growing opposition from pet guardians across South Korea and worldwide.

So, I am asking you to please speak with your counterparts in Gyeonggi Province to urge them to enforce their laws, not ignore them, show compassion to their companion animals, and respect their citizens by bringing this cruel industry to an end.

I know 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.

• Post on X!
  .@ggholic .@dy_future .@UtahGov .@LGHendersonUtah .@GovCox Tell Sister State #Gyeonggi Province #SouthKorea that you are opposed to torture & consumption of #dogs and #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 😭 https://chng.it/tJZfW6wg📣 https://koreandogs.org/gyeonggi-utah/

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