Jeju Island. A paradise for human, a "Hell On Earth" for dogs!  

잔인한 악습, 개식용은 이제그만!
See the photos: http://koreandogs.org/jeju_dog_truck/

Dear Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Hee-Ryong Won,

The heartbreaking images were captured by a vacationer onboard of ferry from Jeju heading Mokpo on July 23, 2012 and spread like a wild fire online in S. Korea and all over the world. These were appalling images of puppies stuffed in cages on top of each other unable to breath, dogs trembling in fear, dogs biting incessantly on wire cage from extreme distress, dogs with bent bodies totally exhausted, vomiting in terror and agony on a dog truck parked inside a cargo deck of a ferry ship in scorching heat, some already dead.

This case ignited the outrage among the opponents of dog meat trade in S. Korea and the people around the world demanding a firm action by the Jeju and S. Korean authority to end this horrific cruelty. The official response by the Jeju authority was shamefully lame: "There is no provision for punishment for the dog truck. However, we will instruct the dog trucks to sanitize the cages and stuff less dogs into each cages."

We refuse to stand by and be silent in the face of most terrible injustice so called human is perpetrating against the most innocent and helpless animals who are known worldwide to be the most faithful and loving companions to the mankind.

The treatment of these animals and the consumption is not only morally wrong but violating your country's own animal protection laws. As described in this news article http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=155872  (English translation:  http://koreandogs.org/the-dog-truck-not-guilty-peoples-backlash-diffusing-online/) opponents of dog meat trade in S. Korea are fed up and calling for the end of the illicit animal cruelty taking place all over the country and especially in Jeju Island known for its natural beauty and tourism but is a "Hell on Earth" for the dogs.

In the Article 2 (Definition), Paragraph 1 of the Animal Protection Law, “Animals” is defined as cattle, horse, swine, dog, cat, rabbit, chicken, duck, goat, sheep, deer, fox, mink and other species as designated by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Therefore, dogs are clearly included in the animals to be protected based on the animal protection law, and the law does not provision only the pet dogs as the subject of protection.

Based on the S. Korea's Animal Protection Laws, dog meat trade is illegal as below and should be banned:

• Article 8 (Prohibition Of Animal Abuse), Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 "No one shall commit the act of killing by brutal methods, such as hanging."
In the Headline Jeju news article, Seo noted, “in this scorching heat hot enough to feel out of breath just seating quietly, dogs are stacked on top of each other without any space to lay their paws in a rattling truck. For many hours, without a sip of water they are left out in the sun hot enough to melt the asphalt and forced to travel for long hours in this horrendous condition. All this action can be clearly interpreted as the admission of killing and intentional with the attitude that ‘they will be killed and eaten anyways so it’s no big deal if they die in the transport’. And he interpreted ‘cruel’ is defined as heartless and very brutal in dictionary and this case of transporting dogs in such a torturous condition enough to make the you think that you would rather be dead that resulted in the death of these dogs can absolutely be defined as heartless and very brutal. Therefore, this case of transporting action clearly falls under the provision of the Animal Protection Act as animal cruelty.

• Article 8 (Prohibition Of Animal Abuse), Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 1 " No one shall commit act of harming an animal with instrument or substance" and Article 8 (Prohibition of animal abuse), Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 2 "No one shall commit act of harming an animal’s body...while it is alive".
Not only the dead dogs but other dogs being transported showed the symptoms of exhaustion and vomiting. This is due to being packed in high density using an instrument called wire cages, causing harms to their physiological function and causing ‘injury’.

• Article 14 (Management Of Abandoned Animals And Protection), Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 "The City, Provincial Governors are responsible to take measure to protect the abused animals and to remove the animals from the abusers."
Therefore, in this case, Jeju government is legally responsible to conduct a thorough investigation of the ownership of these dogs, whether there were any lost or abandoned dogs, stolen dogs and take an adequate protection measures for the abused animals and ensure that the criminals are punished.

We urge Jeju government to prosecute these criminals immediately, to take firm measures to prevent future committal of this type of horrendous crime and to ban the dog meat trade altogether in Jeju Island. Until then, we will not visit your island and we will discourage our friends and families from visiting your island. Most of all, your island will be portrayed as a heartless, lawless, cruel and tragic place to the world.

Most respectfully,

More info:

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Homepage: http://english.jeju.go.kr/

Photos of S. Korea's Dog Meat Industry:   http://www.kaap.or.kr/s1.html?mode=read&idx=18425&search&kwd&page=1&page_list=1&db_name=s1

Videos of S. Korea's Dog Meat Industry:  http://youtu.be/MJ1Z4ZT1Sv8 

http://youtu.be/9mUtFISj__0