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Gunsan, South Korea, Shut down the illegal dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets. Click here for more actions you can take: http://koreandogs.org/Gunsan/ http://koreandogs.org/petitions-korean-cities/ In Gunsan there are countless dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants where the dogs, who are 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 public and in broad daylight. In addition, many abandoned and stolen former pets end up in this industry, and are subjected to the same cruelty. There are plentiful evidences that the illegal dog meat industry exists in Gunsan. Shown below are two search results on Naver (the most popular search engine in Korea) – the first one was for so-called “Health Food Shops” 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”. The searches resulted in: 242 Health Food Shops; and 36 dog meat restaurants in and around Gunsan. https://map.naver.com/?query=%EA%B5%B0%EC%82%B0%EC%8B%9C+%EA%B1%B4%EA%B0%95%EC%9B%90&type=SITE_1 https://map.naver.com/index.nhn?query=6rWw7IKw7IucIOuztOyLoO2DlQ&enc=b64&tab=1 Even if half of these ‘Health’ Food Shops and restaurants serve dog and cat ‘ingredients’ in one form or another, just imagine how many dog/cat slaughterhouses must be present in and around Gunsan in order to supply all of these outlets. South Korea is the home to global companies, such as Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, LG, Daewoo, SK and POSCO, which is why it is so shocking that an estimated 2.5 million dogs are tortured and slaughtered every year within South Korea, because of the greed of dog eaters and the dog meat industry; while the majority of those Koreans, who don’t actually participate in this offensive trade, show a profound indifference by doing nothing at all to stop it. We know how loyal and faithful our dogs across the world are; and we all ask a lot of them - they serve us in innumerable ways: farm work, war work, police and guard duties, search and rescue, help for the disabled, guiding and guardianship, and, of course, as our loving and trusting companions. Dogs were first domesticated many thousands of years ago, and so much do they want to be part of our ‘human’ family that they have learned to understand our gestures and our language - the language of another species, which shows remarkable willingness and intelligence. Please watch this undercover video by animal rights activists in South Korea: http://youtu.be/3uR8R8Mu70Q There are laws in South Korea against selling dogs and cats for human consumption yet these laws are routinely and blatantly ignored. Dear Mayor Kang Im-June and Gunsan City Council members, 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 city. 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 is a violation of 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 is a violation of the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Section 1 & 2. Unauthorized collection of food waste and the act of feeding it to dogs in the meat trade is in violation of this regulation. Excrement and resulting environmental damage produced as a by-product of the illegal dog meat farm is a violation of 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. The act of the slaughtering of dogs for human consumption is a violation of the Animal Protection Act Article 8, Section 1, Clause 4. The act of the slaughtering of a dog, without justifiable ground – such as out of necessity for veterinary treatment, or in circumstances of immediate threat, harm or damage to human life or property, is a violation. The slaughter of dogs by electrocution is a violation of the Animal Protection Act, Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1. Inflicting injury or death to any animal by the following means: battery by tools, exposure to drugs, exposure to extreme heat or fire, electrocution and drowning is subject to legal punishment. Therefore, the routine slaughter of dogs by butchers and farmers by these methods is in violation of the Act. Further, electrocution as a method of slaughter is internationally recognized as an inherently cruel method of slaughter and banned globally. The slaughter of dogs from an unauthorized slaughterhouse is a violation of 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. 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 his/her own consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals that are publically 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 is a violation of the Food Sanitation Act, Article 4, 5. Violation of laws banning the sale of harmful food due to the contamination from 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; this can lead to serious and life threatening health complications. There are also strict laws that ban the sale of meat from sick animals, due to the fact that there is no quality control or formal monitoring of slaughter practices in the dog meat trade it is very likely that violation of these laws is happening routinely. Dog meat restaurants’ sale of dog meat soup made with dog carcasses from an unknown source is a violation of Food Sanitation Act Article 44 Section 1 Clause 1. Uninspected livestock products must not be transported, stored, displayed, sold or used for manufacturing or processing of food for human consumption. Please refer to the legal information regarding the dog meat consumption in South Korea published by KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates): https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 http://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 city’s image.  The time to end this tragedy is now.  The favor of your reply is requested.

Minister of Justice Mr. Park Sang-Ki: please enforce your laws to protect all of Korea’s companion animals from the horrendous meat-trades and cruelty. Dear Minister Park Sang-Ki, We would like to ask you as justice administrators and enforcers of South Korean law, to actively respond to the brutal dog and cat meat trade.  This barbaric trade breeds, tortures and slaughters dogs and cats daily in South Korea by the hundreds of thousands despite the fact that there are currently laws in Korea that makes these cruel trades illegal. https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 You stated that you will “strive to root out crimes targeting the vulnerable and make sure that all individuals, especially the disadvantaged and the vulnerable people within our society feel that they are receiving concrete support from their government.”  How about including the vulnerable dogs and cats of your nation, who are completely voiceless to these crimes committed against them on a daily basis? We implore you to study this currently horrendous situation for dogs and cats, and develop proactive policies to ensure that this gruesome and illegal trade is stopped, and never allowed to operate on any legal grounds whatsoever in South Korea. They need your voice, your administrative legal powers, and your ethos of justice.  These animals cannot speak about the cruelty, deprivation, torture and trauma that is inflicted upon them by the dog and cat meat traders and all their respective suppliers in South Korea. Please speak for them also!  Thank you.

Our goal is 300,000 signatures. Please sign and share for the Korean dogs and cats.  For more actions you can take please visit: http://koreandogs.org/president-moon-end-dmt/ Thank you!  Dear President Moon Jae-In and the South Korean Government, Please watch this documentary: https://youtu.be/cCdTceduKcY I am extremely upset about the torture and consumption of companion animals in South Korea.  With the ubiquity of social medias, every day we are seeing shocking and heartbreaking images and videos of innocent dogs being tortured and killed in your country. Even though Korea has established an Animal Protection Law for companion animals, dogs are still beaten, hung, electrocuted, and treated brutally by farmers and slaughters. Also, dogs and cats are still being beaten and boiled alive for so-called elixirs, which do not have medical properties except in the minds of ignorant and gullible customers. These practices have no place in the modern world. Other Asian countries have banned the eating of dog meat and the cruel industry that goes with it, such as Taiwan and the Philippines. Why does Korea persist in lagging behind these countries and other civilized societies? It’s the responsibility of the Korean government to once and for all end the cruel dog meat and cat medicine industries in Korea. It is time to dismiss the childish myths and propaganda surrounding these industries and their vile products. It is time to leave behind backward and unnecessary traditions. And it is time for Korea to start taking animal welfare seriously and show that it really does have a compassionate and ethical society. That means it is time for the Korean government to start better educating the public about the importance of spaying and neutering, about not abandoning pets, and about treating animals in a proper manner. Until these things are done, Korea’s reputation in the international community will continue to suffer. Its citizens will continue to face shame and embarrassment. And Korea will continue to be regarded as “third world,” despite its modernization and attempts at globalized thinking. From now on, I will boycott Korean products, and I will not support Korean companies or visit Korea until the abuse of cats and dogs has finally ended. Yours sincerely, [Korean] 문재인 대통령님과 대한민국정부에게: 잔인무도한 개, 고양이 식용을 즉각 중지해주세요! 다음의 동영상을 봐주시기 바랍니다. http://youtu.be/3uR8R8Mu70Q https://youtu.be/9SKVdNrfIZo 저는 대한민국에서는 반려동물을 고문하고 잡아먹는다는 사실을 접하고 엄청난 충격을 받았습니다. 산재해 있는 소셜 미디어를 통해서 한국에 있는 아무런 죄 없는 개들이 고문 당하고 죽임 당하는 끔찍하고 가슴 아픈 장면이 담긴 사진과 동영상을 매순간 접하고 있습니다. 비록 한국이 반려동물에 대한 동물보호법을 제정했지만 개들은 여전히 개농장 주인과 도살업자에게 구타당하고, 목 매달리고, 감전되고, 잔인하게 취급 당하고 있습니다. 또 보약이라는 미명하에 아직도 개와 고양이를 산채로 끓는 물에 집어넣고 있습니다. 아무런 의학적 효과가 증명된 바 없음에도 불구하고 무지하고 잘 속아넘어가는 사람들은 여전히 효험이 있다고 믿고 있습니다. 이러한 관행은 오늘날 어디에서도 찾아볼 수 없는 일입니다. 대만이나 필리핀 같은 다른 아시아 국가들은 이미 개고기와 개고기 관련 산업을 금지시켰습니다. 한국이 왜 이러한 나라들이나 다른 문명 사회보다 뒤쳐진 채로 남아있는지 이해할 수가 없습니다. 한국에서 이 잔인하기 짝이 없는 개고기 산업과 고양이로 만든 보약 산업을 영원히 근절시키는 것은 대한민국 정부의 책임입니다. 이와 관련된 산업과 혐오식품을 둘러싼 어리석은 괴담과 주장을 떨쳐버릴 때입니다. 낙후되고 불필요한 전통은 과감히 버릴 때입니다. 그리고 동물복지 문제를 심각하게 받아들여서 한국 사회가 자비롭고 윤리적인 사회라는 것을 보여줄 때입니다. 즉, 한국 정부가 대중들에게 반려동물의 중성화의 중요성, 유기금지, 동물에 대한 적절한 취급에 대해 더 나은 교육을 시작할 때라는 뜻입니다. 그렇지 않으면 한국은 국제사회에서 계속해서 나쁜 평판을 이어가게 될 것입니다. 한국 국민들 역시 수치와 곤란함을 겪게 될 겁니다. 한국이 근대화되었고 국제화된 사고를 도입하려 함에도 불구하고 여전히 “제3세계 후진국가”로 인식될 것입니다. 저는 개와 고양이에 대한 학대가 한국에서 완전히 사라지기 전까지 한국 제품을 구매하지 않을 것이고 한국 회사를 이용하거나 한국을 방문하지 않을 것입니다. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For the translation of this petition in Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Hungarian, visit: http://koreandogs.org/what-you-can-do/contacts-for-protest/sample-protest-letter/  

Seoul National University, stop it! We demand the truth about your using “meat dogs” for cloning experimentation.  Click here to learn more: http://koreandogs.org/snu/ The Seoul National University (SNU) is purported to be one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea and boasts over 28,000 enrolled students, being educated in many important fields. But while it might churn out an impressive number of graduates each year (including those involved in veterinary medicine) its motto ‘Veritas Lux Mea’ (the truth is my light) couldn’t be more misleading and misplaced.  The dark truth uncovered by Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) is that the SNU’s College of Veterinary Medicine uses dogs in experimentation – dogs which have been sourced (cheaply, it seems) from dog meat farms, where they have already been subjected to inhumane treatment, and which go on to be exploited as lab’ animals for such callous and unwarranted experiments as ‘special-cloning projects’ (for example, of drug detection dogs), with resulting data being distorted to reflect a greater success rate - and those impregnated dogs not making the grade (producing too many fetuses) heartlessly being shoved back into the meat trade.  To date, demands for corrective action by the SNU have met with pathetic responses, such as directing that the only need was for a replacement of dog cages, or passing the buck by suggesting that the (single) culpable person for any or all of these wrongdoings was Dr Byeong-Chun Lee, the director or the SNU’s laboratory animal facility.  The SNU is a place of education and its College of Veterinary Medicine holds a prominent position in Korean society as a leader in animal welfare and ethical research. So how can the SNU allow this experimentation to happen in the first place, and how can they continue to shirk responsibility or take action?  Seoul National University, we demand that you accept responsibility and be proactive in resolving this situation by ensuring that:  Stop the animal research using “meat dog” farm dogs immediately! All members of the Seoul National University’s Animal Experimental Ethics Committee must resign for knowingly approving the usage of animals from unauthorized research animal supplier! Seoul National University must thoroughly investigate the researchers responsible and set up measures to prevent recurrence! Seoul National University must fully disclose its history of experimentation on dogs from dog meat farms! The Rural Development Administration and the National Institute of Animal Science must disclose information on the unethical reality behind the special-purpose dog cloning project! 특수목적견 복제한다며 ‘식용’ 개농장과 검은 커넥션, 서울대는 진실을 밝혀라!https://ekara.org/activity/against/read/9456 계속되고 있는 ‘식용’ 개농장 동물실험을 즉각 중단하라! 무등록기관 실험동물 공급임을 알면서 연구 승인한 서울대실험동물윤리위원회는 전원 사퇴하라! 서울대학교는 연구 책임자 엄중 문책하고 재발방지 대책을 세우라!  서울대학교는 ‘식용’ 개농장 동물실험 내역을 낱낱이 공개하라!  농촌진흥청과 국립축산과학원은 비윤리적 실체 드러난 특수목적견 복제 사업의 정보를 공개하라!