Also go to SAVE DOGS IN KOREA

Korean animal protection groups seek help:

Please ask Korea’s new President and Seoul City Mayor to stop dogs from being legally listed as food.

Petition signed. Fine, I will be sensitive to their culture--but I will not be sensitive to the fact that they abuse this dogs--have them in horrific conditions and treat them generally speaking like %#&!*%. If that is what that culture respects about themselves--we all have a problem. That picture of those poor dogs in that truck will never get out of my head. I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING AND I KNOW HOW THEY WERE TREATED UP UNTIL THIS POINT. That I will not condone nor will I be quiet about my opinions. I will not write nasty letters to the Korean Government as that would be coounterproductive.---but I can not justify what they do to these poor innocent puppies. Is that how they treat all of their food sources in Korea?? or are they particularily cruel to the dogs? This is outrageous what they are doing--it is just another country for me to remember that they have screwed up ideas about simple right and wrong. It is a good thing that I will never be on a road in Korea and see a truck go past me with puppies in the back--I would not be able to stand by and do nothing.

i cry for these sweet animals why does this have to happen they are innocent and do not deserve this

Animal Freedom Korea: AFK (whose link is also posted in our billboard) posts information regarding the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination in Korea plans to "hygienically" control dog meat and has been actively dealing with this matter since Novemebr, 2004. Currently, the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination completed a report on ‘the scheme for the hygienic control of dog meat ' and they are in the stage of opening an internal debate.

As for now, the Korean government came to a conclusion that to legalize the dogs to be the livestock, therefore, they prescribed the dog meat which is ‘unregistered as livestock' as food and are seeking the ways to hygienically control it. Based on the current Korean law, dogs meat cannot be registered as the' livestock'. However, there is not any law that can penalize for the dog slaughter.

For the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which deals with the hygienic control of livestock, to legalize the dog meat, there should be a mutual agreement among the people, however, there is not. Therefore, they made their view point clear that it is impossible to hygienically control the dog meat. Despite the whole situation, the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination takes the initiative to find the ways to legally control the dog meat.

The intention of the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination is that a huge amount of dog meat is consumed in reality, and they cannot ignore the hygienic control of the dog meat. However, as most of the dog meat consumed is not based on the overall eating habits of the Korean, if the hygienic and environmental problems are critical, Korean government has to seek a policy to ban dog meat to meet the needs of the current of the times and the culture.

AFK participated in the ‘Policy discussion for the hygienic control of dog meat' and strongly opposed to legalizing the dog meat in Korea. We believe that when the dog meat is tacitly approved by the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination, it is fairly dangerous to discuss the ways to hygienically control the dog meat.

We cannot permit any control of dog meat by legal regulations however small it is, and we should make it impossible even just to try to have a policy discussion.

AFK commenced a campaign to urge the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination to discontinue the discussion regarding the ‘Policy for the hygienic control of dog meat 'and to repeal it. Around next week, I will be able to roughly sense the policy direction of the Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination. I will let you know the details then, therefore, depending on your situation, please actively commence a campaign to ban the dog meat targeting the Korean Ministry of Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Korean embassy in your country.


< For your reference >

Minister of Office for Government Policy Coordination
Han Duck-Soo
e-mail : dshan@opc.go.kr

* Thank you Debbie, for taking the initiative to act on behalf of these animals in peril.*

Please everyone, though we as indivuals may be thoroughly disgusted with the mistreatment, abuse and cruelty these animals are faced with and the conditions that they live, suffer and die under, we absolutely must be sensitive to the culture of the region and their beliefs if we are going to make a positive impact on behalf of the animals there.

Therefore Our Request:

When you commence the anti-dog meat campaign, please never blame Koreans or others for eating dogs. You have to be careful especially when this is spread through the media. There still remains the old habit that it was inevitable to eat dog meat in the past, therefore, many people who don't eat dog meat don't fully understand the anti-dog meat movement.

When people from overseas blame Koreans for eating dog meat, Koreans feel so offended that it can cause unfavorable side effects, which amplifies the movements to solidify the dog meat as a Korean eating culture.

Thank you all for all that you do on behalf of the animals.

Katia

gladly signed

Thanks Liz for signing!!!

Petition gladly signed. Thank you.

Please also take a moment to send out emails to voice your protest on this issue:
Please send polite emails urging them to stop this madness, to the following individuals:


Email addresses:

The City of Seoul- inter@seoul.go.kr


Mayor of Seoul Mr. Oh Se-hoon -

ohsehoon@seoul.go.kr



Korean President Mr. Lee Myung-bak-

webmaster@president.go.kr


The Provincial Governor of Kyungki-do Kim, Moon-soo-

mailer@gg.go.kr

Please take a moment to sign/crosspost/and forward this very important petition..

DOGS IN KOREA NEED YOUR HELP DESPERATELY !!!

We need to stop this brutality, torture and killing

from being made legal...Petition link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-dogs-in-korea

Animals in Korea currently are in a horrible situation. But we find it too difficult for us to protect our suffering furry friends on our own in this country.


1. Korea is a country of cruelty to animals. A large number of people in Korea have no trouble accepting the fact that animals are being taken advantage of and mistreated as long as it is done for human purposes.


The idea of living a well-off life predominates over this nation nowadays, and the reckless experiments done on animals are notorious. For those who have their hearts set on profit oriented greed, improving animals' inferior and ruthless living conditions doesn't concern them a bit. These poor creatures are born and live until they get slaughtered in the same confined filthy places where no living soul can bear to stand even for a single minute. Furthermore, animals living in such condition are vulnerable to various kinds of deadly viruses and diseases.


Korea is now facing the sky rocketing spread of AI virus among poultry brought about by horrific living environments. And their way of handling this calamity is to bury all those birds in the ground ALIVE.

Animal rights activists had reported the very site to the press to notify the society about this act of brutality but it was never made in to a written article because of one single phone call from the government saying that national interests should be taken into consideration above all.


2. Korea is a DOG EATING country. China, Vietnam and Korea are the only three countries left in Asia that allow dogs to be eaten, though consuming dog meat has been somewhat illegal in Korea up till now. But the Korean government is now trying to pass a bill that would legalize dogs to be a part of livestock. If such a thing comes to reality, no dogs in Korea are guaranteed of their safety or protection and, worst of all, THEIR LIVES!

3. At the same time, there are many people who love our canine friends. The number of people who own dogs (as a pet) is increasing and there are still a great number of people who oppose 'dog meat' in Korea.

However, unfortunately, some Koreans now perceive 'eating dog' as a matter of personal choice and taste. This is due to the Korean government and some media who are knowingly involved in convincing citizens to believe so.

As seen, a tense debate over 'dog meat' is prevailing currently. This debate is further fueled by the Korean government trying to pass a bill to legalize butchering dogs (dog as a livestock) only because it believes that there are people who eat dogs.

The city of Seoul has announced that it will hold a public hearing in May of 2008. It is simply a matter of time before the bill is passed and Korea would be the first and the only nation that legally allows the killing and eating of dogs.

4. For dogs that are eventually killed for consumption, if they even have a life, it is a life of sheer misery. We have found that even lost, abandoned and stolen dogs are sacrificed for meat consumption besides ones from dog farms. Owners of some dog farms have the dog's eardrum ruptured by putting a hot iron into dog's ear. This is done because they don't want the dogs to bark while they are kept in cages. Also, because dogs get extremely stressed in the farm cages, they often get into fight and some dogs are bitten to death. Some people even set the dogs on fire until death!
On the way to market from farm, several dogs are put together into a tiny net. They say this is because they don't want to give enough room for the dogs to fight. When arriving at the market, dogs are again kept in small cages while waiting for a couple of days until 'selected' as meat. They are rarely fed. Dogs see other dogs led away and killed. Dogs' eyes shy away from humans. Dogs try to avoid attention by only showing their back to not to be selected earlier than others. Dogs tremble with fear and their heads are bent down. They are seized with terror but all they can do is wait for death.

5. Demand for 'dog meat' can increase if the bill is passed. Even cosmetics that contain some part of dog were introduced. People might import dogs that were bred in countries such as Vietnam and China for lower prices. This is a possible scenario that can really happen. And there may be more serious problems beyond Korea.


6. But there is hope. With a straight and righteous mind, there is nothing we can not accomplish. Animal cruelty recognizes no boundaries.


Please Act to end this , for the dogs and cats of Korea!!!Thank you

This post was modified from its original form on 06 May, 5:28