Blog

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.

In Seoul Gwanak-gu, there are countless markets and restaurants, where there are dogs suffering, they are tortured their entire lives and 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, the meat is then sold to consumers. Many of these dogs are abandoned and stolen former pets, and they end up in the dog meat industry, these dogs are subjected to the same cruelty.

Video: The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea

Video: South Korea’s horrific dog slaughter. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE)

A Search Engine reveals the sickening scale of Seoul Gwanak-gu’s dog meat demand.

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”: 131 Health Food Shops and 74 dog meat restaurants in the vicinity of Seoul Gwanak-gu.

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 Seoul Gwanak-gu 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 file a petition with the South Korean government through e-People online. (You can use our “Suggested message” below or your own words.)
  📌 Need help with the e-People petition? Click HERE for instructions.
• 📧 Send emails to the Seoul Gwanak-gu Council 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]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
• 📧 Send emails to the Seoul Metropolitan Council 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]; [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]; [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]; [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]; [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]; [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];
• Send letter:
  District Mayor Park Jun-Hee
  Seoul Gwanak-gu Government
  145 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul
  Postal Code 08832
  South Korea

  Address in Korean:
  서울관악구 박준희구청장님
  서울관악구청
  (08832) 서울시 관악구 관악로 145
  South Korea

  Seoul Gwanak-gu Council
  145 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul
  Postal Code 08832
  South Korea

  Address in Korean:
  서울관악구의회
  (08832) 서울시 관악구 관악로 145 South Korea

• Send a message through Facebook pages.
  

  Seoul Gwanak-gu
  Seoul Gwanak-gu Mayor

  🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷Click HERE for the Korean translation of the suggested message you can add to your letter.🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷

  📝 Suggested message

  Subject: Seoul Gwanak-gu, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants.

  Petition: https://www.change.org/p/seoul-gwanak-gu-district-mayor-park-jun-hee-seoul-gwanak-gu-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants

  Dear District Mayor Park Jun-Hee and the Seoul Gwanak-gu Council members,

  We ask that you please watch this: “The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea” https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY.

  We ask you to take immediate action to crack down on the illegal dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants that serve dog meat in your district. We request that an official document be issued, mandating that the following existing Korean laws be enforced by its government officials, police and judges:

  Unauthorized processing of food waste fed to dogs in the meat trade violates the Wastes Control Act, Article 15-2, Article 25, Section 3. Suppliers of food waste and transporters of food waste to dog meat farms are violating this regulation.

  Food waste fed to dogs in the dog meat trade violates the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Sections 1 & 2. The unauthorized collection of food waste and feeding it to dogs in the meat trade violates this regulation.

  Excrement and resulting environmental damage produced as a by-product of the illegal dog meat farm violates the Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Excreta Article 11. The excrement produced at dog meat farms causes environmental damage to the immediate and surrounding area.

  Slaughtering dogs for human consumption violates the Animal Protection Act Article 8, Section 1. Killing an animal by hanging it by the neck or by using any other cruel methods; killing an animal on the street or any other places open to the public or killing an animal with animals of the same kind present at the scene; killing an animal by failing to feed or water it on purpose; killing an animal without any justifiable grounds is clear violation of the Animal Protection Act.

  The slaughter of dogs by electrocution violates the Animal Protection Act, Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1. Inflicting an injury to animals by physical or chemical means, such as tools or drugs, is subject to legal punishment. Therefore, the routine slaughter of dogs by butchers and farmers by these methods violates the Act. (Penalty: imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won per Article 46 of the Animal Protection Act.) Further, electrocution as a method of slaughter is internationally recognized as an inherently cruel method of slaughter and banned globally. In Korea, the Supreme Court in 2020 convicted a case of slaughtering a dog using an electric iron skewer.

  The slaughter of dogs from an unauthorized slaughterhouse violates the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 7 Section 1. The Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act states that dogs are officially recognized and classified as “animals” that are “prohibited from being slaughtered and distributed as food for human consumption.” Therefore, those vendors operating dog slaughterhouses are operating outside of the parameters of the law and in violation of the law. (Penalty: imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 100 million won per Article 45 of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act.)

  The slaughter of dogs for his/her own consumption is a violation of the Animal Protection Act, Article 10. The intent of the Act is to ensure that no animal is slaughtered in a cruel or revolting manner, and shall be free from unnecessary pain, fear, or stress during the process of slaughter. Therefore, the only humane way of slaughtering dogs would be by euthanasia (lethal injection). All currently practiced methods of slaughter by butchers, farmers and traders excludes euthanasia as a method of slaughter, therefore they are all in breach of this Act. This is also a violation of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act Article 7 Section 1 Clause 2.

  According to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, the slaughter of animals for their consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals that are publicly announced as classification of livestock in the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act and dogs are not classified here.

  The display and sale of dog carcasses in traditional outdoor markets violate the Food Sanitation Act, Article 4, 5. Violation of laws banning the sale of harmful food due to the contamination from the unsanitary and illegal slaughter of the animal and display of the dog carcass. For example, dog carcasses are routinely contaminated by microorganisms that cause human diseases and food poisoning, leading to severe and life-threatening health complications. There are also strict laws that ban the sale of meat from sick animals. Because there is no quality control or proper monitoring of slaughter practices in the dog meat trade, likely, these laws are routinely violated.

  Dog meat restaurants’ sale of dog meat soup made with dog carcasses from an unknown source violates the Food Sanitation Act Article 44 Section 1 Clause 1. Uninspected livestock products must not be transported, stored, displayed, sold, or used to manufacture or process food for human consumption.

  Please refer to the legal information regarding dog meat consumption in South Korea published by KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates): https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 https://koreandogs.org/kara-publishes-legal-information-booklet-ending-dog-meat-consumption/

  The United States House of Representatives has formally passed H.Res. 401, “Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry and urges all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade.” (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/401)

  International coverage of the brutal dog and cat meat trade in South Korea has stained your district’s image. An online petition calling for your immediate action to end the horrendous South Korean dog and cat meat cruelty is in progress: https://www.change.org/p/seoul-gwanak-gu-district-mayor-park-jun-hee-seoul-gwanak-gu-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants

  The time to end this tragedy is now. The favor of your reply is requested.

  [Your Name & City/Country]

• Send a Twitter message!

  Suggested Twitter text

  .@seoulmania @seoulcouncil Seoul Gwanak-gu, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants. https://www.change.org/p/seoul-gwanak-gu-district-mayor-park-jun-hee-seoul-gwanak-gu-korea-shut-down-the-illegal-dog-meat-farms-markets-and-restaurants

Video: Appalling Reality of South Korea’s Illegal Dog Farms (불법 개농장 참혹한 현실 – 제보자들 20200610)