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European Commission President, Honorable Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President, Honorable Charles Michel: Please tell your Partnership Country, South Korea, 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.

Reuter reported on May 22, 2023, “South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit in Seoul with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, during which the leaders also pledged to work together on climate change, health and supply chains.”

In South Korea, 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: 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 South Korea’s dog meat demand.

Two searches on Naver (the most popular search engine in Korea) – 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” – resulted in thousands of Health Centers and dog meat restaurants in South Korea.

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 South Korea 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

• 📧 Email the European Commission President, Commissioners, Spokesperson’s service, and European Council.

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  📧 Send the CC (Carbon Copy) email to the South Korean National Assembly members.

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• 📬 Send online messages. (Use the below-suggested message)

  👉 Click HERE for the European Union.
  👉 Click HERE for the European Union President Ursula von der Leyen.
  👉 Click HERE for the European Council President Charles Michel.

• 📬 Send letters. (Use the below-suggested message)

  European Commission
  Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
  1049 Brussels
  Belgium

  Council of the European Union
  Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175
  B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel
  Belgium

  Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea
  [04637] 11th Floor, Seoul Square, 416 Hangang-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul
  South Korea

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to the South Korean President:

  Office of the President
  04383 22 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu,
  Seoul, South Korea

  📬 South Korean President’s addresses in Korean:

  대한민국 대통령실
  04383 서울특별시 용산구 이태원로 22
  South Korea

📝 Suggested message

European Commission President, Hon. Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President, Hon. Charles Michel: Please tell your Partnership Country, South Korea, you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

Dear Hon. Ursula von der Leyen, Hon. Charles Michel, and the members of the European Commission and the European Council:

We ask you to reconsider your “partnership” with South Korea, a country that permits dogs and cats to be horribly abused and brutally killed for food.

While graphic, these undercover videos are illustrative:
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: https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/

South Korea consumes millions of dogs each year. There are countless dog farms and dog slaughterhouses in South Korea. Korean web searches turn up thousands 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, maggot-infested 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.

In the United States, 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 Europeans and people worldwide, we ask that you follow these bold leads by not remaining silent in the face of such abhorrent cruelty. Please urge South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to shut down the dog meat industry. An online petition calling for your support in ending such horrors perpetrated in South Korea is in progress: https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr.

Thank you for your serious consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your name, city, country]

📝 Suggested message in German

Präsidentin der Europäischen Kommission, Frau Ursula von der Leyen und Präsident des Europäischen Rates, Herr Charles Michel: Bitte teilen Sie Ihrem Partnerland Südkorea mit, dass Sie gegen die Folter und den Verzehr von Hunden und Katzen sind.

Sehr geehrte Frau Komissarin Ursula von der Leyen,
Sehr geehrter Herr Kommissar Charles Michel, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren Mitglieder der Europäischen Kommission und des Europäischen Rates,

Wir bitten Sie höflich, Ihre „Partnerschaft“ mit Südkorea zu überdenken, einem Land, das zulässt, dass Hunde und Katzen für den Verzehr schrecklich misshandelt und brutal getötet werden.

Diese Undercover-Videos sind zwar grausam, aber dennoch anschaulich:
Teil 1 von 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
Teil 2 von 2: https://vimeo.com/754160791
Waldbrand in Uljin verbrennt Hunde, die in Hundefleischfarmen eingesperrt: https://youtu.be/mh1lEGt2gjU
https://youtu.be/GLLeI_XFNPg
Hunde, die ihr ganzes Leben lang gelitten haben, werden in Käfigen mit Elektroschocks gefoltert und getötet: https://koreandogs.org/jtbc-news-electric-tortured-in-cages/

Südkorea verzehrt jedes Jahr Millionen Hunde und Katzen. In Südkorea gibt es unzählige Hundefarmen und Hundeschlachthöfe. Koreanische Websuchen führen zu Tausenden von Hundefleischrestaurants und sogenannten „Gesundheitszentren“, in denen häufig Suppen aus Hundefleisch als falsche Elixiere (auch als Hunde-Soju bekannt) serviert werden.

Hunde leiden ihr ganzes Leben lang in schmutzigen, mit Fäkalien verkrusteten Drahtkäfigen in schrecklichem Elend, nur um dann auf die schrecklichste Art und Weise abgeschlachtet zu werden – gefoltert durch Stromschläge, Hammerschläge auf den Kopf, Erhängen, zu Tode geprügelt, durch Durchschneiden der Kehlen, lebendig mit einer Lötlampe verbrannt oder bei lebendigem Leib in einen Behälter mit kochendem Wasser geworfen. Vielerorts werden Hunde vor den Augen anderer eingesperrter Hunde getötet, die vor Angst zittern. Diese armen Hunde werden oft bei lebendigem Leib in ihren Käfigen verbrannt und können nicht entkommen. Sie werden mit verfaultem, von Maden befallenem Müll voller Chilischoten gefüttert, die für kein Tier zum Verzehr geeignet sind, und sie bekommen kein. Wasser zum Trinken. Darüber hinaus werden geliebte Haustiere oft gestohlen und an diese Schlachthöfe verkauft, wo sie das gleiche schreckliche Schicksal erleiden.

In den Vereinigten Staaten hat Bürgermeister Christopher Chung von Palisades Park, New Jersey, bereits deutlich seine Ablehnung des Hundefleischhandels zum Ausdruck gebracht. Wie die the Korea Times, berichtete, lehnte er kürzlich einen Besuch von Austauschstudenten aus der Freundschaftsstadt Incheon Ganghwa County wegen ihres Hundefleischhandels ab. In Kalifornien verabschiedete der Stadtrat von Los Angeles einstimmig eine Resolution zur Unterstützung von Gesetzen oder Verwaltungsmaßnahmen, mit denen die Regierungen Südkoreas, Chinas, Vietnams, Indonesiens und Kambodschas aufgefordert werden, den Verkauf von Hundefleisch zu verbieten und ihre Tierschutzgesetze durchzusetzen.

Im Namen der tierliebenden Europäer und Menschen auf der ganzen Welt bitten wir Sie, diesen mutigen Hinweisen zu folgen und angesichts dieser abscheulichen Grausamkeit nicht zu schweigen. Bitte fordern Sie den südkoreanischen Präsidenten Yoon Suk-yeol auf, die Hundefleischindustrie zu schließen. Eine Online-Petition, die Sie um Ihre Unterstützung bei der Beendigung dieser in Südkorea begangenen Gräueltaten bittet, ist in Bearbeitung: https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr.

Vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit!

Freundliche Grüße,

[Your name, city, country]

• ☎️ Call the European Commission and the European Council.

  European Commission:
  00 800 67 89 10 11 (from inside the EU)
  +32 2 299 96 96 (from outside the EU)
  Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea: +82 2 3704 1700

  European Council:
  Tel: +32 2 281 61 11
  Fax: +32 2 281 69 34

☎️ Suggested phone message

Hello, I’m calling to speak to someone in the President’s Office to ask for their help on an important issue regarding your Partnership Country, South Korea.

If I could explain: Dog-meat consumption is currently being practiced in that country, 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 on their behalf. And I believe that European Union and European Council would wish to be made aware of this issue, as you would not want to affiliate with a nation 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.

This illegal industry is being allowed to continue by South Korean authorities – even though there is growing opposition from pet guardians across South Korea and worldwide.

So, I am asking you to please speak with your counterparts in South Korea 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.

• Send a Twitter message!
  #EuropeanCommission #EuropeanCouncil .@EUCouncil Tell Partnership Country #SouthKorea, you oppose the torture and consumption of #dogs and #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ 😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 😭 https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr https://koreandogs.org/partnership-korea-EU
  .@vonderleyen .@charlesmichel .@karlnehammer .@alexanderdecroo .@AndrejPlenkovic .@Christodulides .@P_Fiala .@Statsmin Tell #SouthKorea, you oppose torture/consumption of #dogs #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ 😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr
  .@PetteriOrpo .@emmanuelmacron .@bundeskanzler .@primeministerGR .@PM_ViktorOrban .@Palazzo_Chigi .@karinskrisjanis .@gitanasnauseda Tell #SouthKorea, you oppose torture/consumption of #dogs #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ 😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr
  .@Xavier_Bettel .@RobertAbela_MT .@MinPres .@MorawieckiM .@antoniocostapm .@KlausIohannis .@LudoOdorPM .@govSlovenia Tell #SouthKorea you oppose torture/consumption of #dogs #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ 😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr
  #EuropeanCommission #EuropeanCouncil .@sanchezcastejon .@SwedishPM .@LeoVaradkar .@kajakallas Tell #SouthKorea you oppose torture/consumption of #dogs #cats 🐾 https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ 😢https://vimeo.com/754160791 https://chng.it/Dsm688Nr

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