IDA Holds Protest at Korean Consulate in San Francisco
Calls On Korean Government to Amend and Strengthen Animal Protection Law Korea

IDA has long protested South Korea's brutal dog and cat meat trade, urging the government to enforce existing laws banning their consumption. Working with a number of animal protection organizations in Korea, we are urging the South Korean Government to pass amendments to their existing Animal Protection Law to end some of the worst cruelties taking place in the country. The amendment will lay the foundation for banning dog and cat meat in their country.

Last week, we hosted another in an ongoing series of protests against the dog and cat meat trade at Korean consulates and embassies in major U.S. cities. At our demonstration at the Republic of Korea Consulate General in San Francisco, about ten activists stood outside with signs and banners handing out flyers to pedestrians and screening video footage of dogs and cats slaughtered for their flesh. Our group then delivered thousands of postcards to Consulate officials calling for enforcement of the country's Animal Protection Law and an end to the dog and cat meat trade. These thousands of signatures from people in many different countries indicate widespread opposition to the institutionalized animal abuse taking place in South Korea.

Meanwhile, in Korea, a number of Korean groups came together to hold a vigil in Seoul attended by a huge crowd which gathered to call on the government to institute an amendment to the Animal Protection Law that will ensure more humane care for animals. The Korean Government's current proposed amendment to the Animal Protection Law fails to include basic provisions to prevent cruelty to animals and falls far below global standards for humane treatment of animals. Amendments could be submitted to the National Assembly as soon as June of this year, so we hope to convince authorities that positive changes are needed before the matter is decided.