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✳️ This campaign replaces our previous campaign.

Davis: Tell Sister City, Sangju, 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.

Sangju became a Sister City with Davis, California, in 2004.

👉 Our campaign is in the news again! The city of Davis requested your comments about its Sister City relationship with Sangju.

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 Sangju, 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 Sangju’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 Sangju 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 Davis.

  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];

  📧 CC (Carbon Copy) email to the Sangju City Council, Gyeongsangbuk-do Council, and the South Korean National Assembly members.

  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
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• 📬Send letters.

  Davis City Council
  23 Russell Blvd.
  Davis, CA 95616
  USA

  📬 Send a copy of your letter to Sangju Government.
  Mayor Kang Young-Seok
  City of Sangju
  223 Sangsan-ro, Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do
  Postal Code 37211
  South Korea

  Sangju City Council
  111 Joongang-ro, Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do
  Postal Code 37183
  South Korea

  📬 Sangju Government’s addresses in Korean:
  강영석 상주 시장님
  상주시청
  (37211)경상북도 상주시 상산로 223
  South Korea

  상주시의회
  (37183)경상북도 상주시 중앙로 111
  South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook pages.

  Davis
  Sangju
  Sangju Mayor Kang Young-Seok

  📝 Suggested message

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

  Dear Mayor Chapman and Members of the Davis City Council,

  As representatives of Davis, we implore you to reconsider your Sister City agreement with Sangju, 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 Sangju and across South Korea continue to suffer immensely.

  Countless dogs endure unbearable conditions at the below dog farms in Sangju.
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Jicheon-dong 4
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Gajang-dong 63-3
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Gongseong-myeon Yeongo 2-gil 20-12
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Nakdong-myeon Yeongnamjeil-ro 902-41
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Seokdan-ro 1526
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Sabeol-myeon Deokdam-ri 556 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Hamchang-eup Deoktong-ri 203-8 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Hamchang-eup Samgol-gil 83-40
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Odae-dong 78 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Hamchang-eup Geumgok-ri 608 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Gongseong-myeon Munhwa-ro 732
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Gonggeom-myeon Hwadong-ri 355-1 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Balsan-ro 280-63
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Hamchang-eup Geumgok-ri 565 beonji
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Gonggeom-myeon Hwadong 1 gil 37-31
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Hamchang-eup Deoktong 1 gil 103
  Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju Odae 3 gil 47-47

  Sangju 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 Sangju persist in violating multiple existing laws, but the Sangju 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 Sangju Mayor Kang Young-Seok 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 Sangju is in progress: https://chng.it/dCcKDgKDXv.

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

  Sincerely,

  [Your name, city, country]

• ☎️ Call the Davis Mayor’s Office.
  530-757-5602
  530-758-0204 FAX
  530-757-5666 TDD

  ☎️ Suggested phone message

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

  I want to bring to your attention that dog meat consumption continues in Sangju 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 Sangju, 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

  .@greatsangju .@gyeongsangbukdo .@CityofDavis #Davis Tell Sister City #Sangju #SouthKorea that you oppose torture and consumption of #dogs #cats #dogmeat #catmeat https://chng.it/dCcKDgKDXv✊https://koreandogs.org/Sangju-Davis

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 Davis!