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What makes it more
immoral to brutally kill, and eat dogs, cats, and
kittens, than to brutally kill, and eat cows, calves,
pigs, horses, chickens, ducks, geese and other animals?
Last three pictures were received
from In Defense Of Animals
Life human, or non human as property, is license for
atrocity.
On the 27th of June,
SBS news channel in
South Korea
revealed in their evening news
program that purebred dogs, commonly regarded as pet
dogs, also end up in dog meat market. For a long time,
KAPS have been telling the Korean government and media
that it is not possible to distinguish between pet dogs
and food dogs. Dog meat traders or dog eaters do not
make the distinction themselves in practice - despite
the fact that they have been using the distinction as a
justification for dog meat. No one seemed to take notice
of our warnings. For too long many Koreans assumed it
was only large yellow dogs or mixed-breeds that were
being eaten. We thank news reporter Cheonhong Kim and
SBS for exposing the truth.
Prior to the revelation, SBS reported that many pet
stores and businesses, due to slowdown in the economy,
had been selling their pet dogs to the markets.
Similarly, many Korean pet owners have also been
abandoning their dogs, which often end up in the markets
- sometimes because they outgrew Korea's rather small
sized average apartment. This time, their investigation
has found that purebred puppies have been sold to dog
meat restaurants. The conversation between a dog meat
restaurant owner and his customer clearly showed that
all dogs are regarded as food in dog eaters' eyes and
that their claim that they do not eat so-called pet dogs
is a feeble excuse to lessen the disgust of dog lovers.
Purebred puppies used to be very expensive and purebred
dogs who ended up in the dog meat market were those who
grew old and ill, whether abandoned or stolen. Due to
the dramatic increase of those who breed purebred dogs
and economic slowdown, many of these pet businesses are
closing down. Some dog meat traders are now buying from
pet dog auctions and then passing them to dog meat
restaurants. One man filmed in the program managed to
buy 10 cocker spaniel puppies with less than 100,000 Won
(around $30) and were selling them to dog meat
restaurants.
What the
program has clearly shown is that the distinction
between pet dogs and food dogs has been used solely to
justify dog meat trade. We have been telling the Korean
government for the past 12 years that animal abuse in
Korea
will
only get worse unless we can end the consumption of dogs
and cats. Instead of making genuine efforts to expel the
trade based on lies and greed, the Korean government is
trying to legitimize the distinction by law, thereby
worsening the plight of dogs and cats in
Korea
. As
the government has not yet finalized the Amendment, we
still have time to influence its decision. Please
therefore ask again the Ministry of Agriculture to
include all dogs and cats in the definition of pet
animals in their Amendment to the 1991 Animal Protection
Law. (
June
27, 2004
) - Sunnan Kum
What
You Can Do:
1.. Write to the Korean Government telling them to:
a.. Define All Dogs &
Cat
s as "Pet Animals"
a.. Amendment should
NOT legitimize the distinction between food-dogs &
pet-dogs, which the dog-meat industry uses to justify
their trade to Koreans & the World
b.. Enforce existing laws in the markets & countryside
a.. Let them know dog/cat based products are fraudulent
medicines & not food & they are a threat to public
health
c.. Make the act of slaughtering and selling dogs and
cats for food or medicine punishable by law
a.. More and more Koreans object to the dog and cat meat
industry; even though its not legal; current laws need
to make it a punishable offense.
2.. Write to your Member of Parliament or Congress
a.. Ask them to contact the Korean Government and
pressure them to change the definition of "pet animals"
to include all dogs and cats.
3..
Make a contribution to IAKA & KAPS
a.. Help us pressure the Korean government to take
active responsibility for the protection of all dogs &
cats
b.. Help us spread the truth about the dog & cat meat
industry
c.. Help us sponsor
education programs that will create a more just and
compassionate society in
Korea
4..
Please send letters to the Korean Government protest to:
(Email Addresses may not work, when too many messages
are received)
a.. President Roh Moo-Hyun
Blue House
1
Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu
Seoul
South Korea
, 110-050
webmaster@president.go.kr
webmaster@korea.net
b.. Minister Huh Sang-Man
The Ministry of Agriculture
#3-108
Gwacheon
Government
Office
Building
Joongang-dong 1
Gwacheon,
Gyeonggi-do
Province
South Korea
427-760
-or-
wmaster@maf.go.kr
What You Can Do, Why
We Oppose It, Background, The Amendment , Animal
Protection Law, International Misconceptions
International Aid for Korean Animals
Korea
Animal Protection Society
P.O.
Box 20600
,
Oakland
,
94620-0600,
USA
www.koreananimals.org
iaka@koreananimals.org
(Tel.)
510-271-6795
(Fax) 510-451-0643
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