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Dedicated animal advocate and our friend Rudy Gallardo shared with us a letter he received from the Pohang City Council in response to our campaign: A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in South Korean Wildfires (Sister City: Pohang & Pittsburg, California): 🔗 https://koreandogs.org/a-plea-for-compassion-pohang-pittsburg/ Thank you, Rudy!

Rudy frequently sends protest letters by post and occasionally receives responses from the Korean government. This reply from the Pohang City Council is especially encouraging—it reflects the impact of our persistent advocacy and the collective actions we have taken together.

According to the letter, South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) has revised, updated, and implemented the new Manual for Rescue and Protection of Companion Animals during Disasters (산불·수해 등 재난 시 반려동물 구조·보호 매뉴얼) and distributed it to local governments across the country in response to the recent wildfires.

We submitted requests to both MAFRA and the Pohang City Council to obtain a copy of the manual. However, as with previous attempts, MAFRA declined our request without providing a valid reason, and Pohang has yet to respond.

We are heartened to see Pohang taking steps toward meaningful change for animals. However, we firmly believe that the evacuation of companion animals during disasters must be mandatory, not merely recommended.

Let’s continue our campaign to push for stronger animal protection policies in Pohang—and throughout every city in South Korea. Together, we can create lasting change for the animals who depend on our voices and our action.

A Plea for Compassion: Protect Chained Dogs from Burning Alive in South Korean Wildfires – Sister City Campaign Center