Minister Kim Hyeon-Soo (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), time and again the work of SaveKoreanDogs.org, in their struggle to end the aberrant dog-meat trade in South Korea, has been made more difficult, as their requests to the authorities, for action to enforce the various Laws relating to illegal acts committed within these trades, have met with little success - in some part because of the way the various animal/food related Acts are worded. 

For example:  ‘dogs’ are classified as livestock in the Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Industry Act; and the wording within the Animal Protection Act currently allows for dog slaughterhouses to continue their work unchallenged - even the illegal ones.  In addition, the penalties for wrongdoers punished under the Animal Protection Act are too minimal to be a deterrent; the Police etc., have inadequate training and knowledge to deal with any infringements of these Laws; and there is no separate Animal Welfare Department within South Korea. 

Therefore, in order for SaveKoreanDogs.org to gain official support in their endeavors, and intervention in this illegal, inhumane and brutal dog-meat trade, it is imperative that changes are made to wording within these relevant Acts, and also that changes are made within the official ‘system’. One of the most important changes being requested is to remove dogs from the classification of livestock in the Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Industry Act. 

SaveKoreanDogs.org have drafted a detailed proposal for changes, and are asking that you accept them. 

Mr. Kim Hyeon-Soo, as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, you have the authority to help make these changes happen: will you consider these changes, will you accept them, and will you help put them into practice?

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Click to read a statement by Mr. Pyo Chang Won, the chairman of the Animal Welfare Committee at the National Assembly of Korea, who is the author of the new amendment to the Animal Protection Law: http://koreandogs.org/dog-animal-protection-law-changwon-pyo/

Our thanks and gratitude is extended to Nami Kim of SaveKoreanDogs.org who submitted a proposal to Mr. Pyo, detailing recommendations for changes to the Animal Protection Law. Click to read her proposal: http://koreandogs.org/savekoreandogs-recommendations-animal-protection-law/