Korean Dogs Rescued from Abusive Meat Rancher Humane Organizations Seek to Strengthen Animal Protection Law IDA has long protested South Korea's notorious dog and cat meat trade, working with local groups to bring the practice to an end and urging the government to enforce existing laws that ban dog and cat consumption. Our efforts have been reinforced recently by two exposés of dog farms broadcast on Korean television which showed hundreds of dogs crammed together in tiny cages where they couldn't even move or stretch their limbs.(Click here to see photos from the exposés. Warning: some of the pictures are disturbing.) The dogs suffered unimaginable cruelty before being loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.  In recent months, a land dispute led to a large number of dogs being deliberately neglected, abused and starved so that the animals' "owner" could claim compensation from the government. He raised the dogs on property that he didn't own, then left them to suffer when authorities tried to reclaim the land so that he could blame them for his financial losses. Dogs were found on this meat ranch without any shelter from freezing rain and other harsh winter elements. They were covered in their own feces, their skin infested with scabies and infected sores. Literally starving to death, the hungry dogs resorted to cannibalism. Tragically, some adult dogs became so ravenous that they ate their own newborn pups. Many suffered serious injuries such as missing ears or tails but received no medical attention.  Working alongside other animal rights organizations, IDA's colleagues, Animal Freedom Korea (AFK), were able to rescue 50 of these mistreated dogs. The groups also held a protest focused not on opposing dog meat, but rather on securing the right to seek shelter for dogs under the Animal Protection Law. While the groups see banning dog meat as a long-term plan, they are working on laying the foundation by advocating for amendments to South Korea's Animal Protection Law. The first step would be to ensure that abused animals are removed from cruel "owners" and immediately given refuge by reputable animal rescue organizations, which is not possible under current animal protection laws. Currently, animal protection organizations cannot even take custody of abused animals to ensure their safety without the "owner's" permission, no matter what kind of abuse the animal has suffered. Secondly, the groups want people convicted of aggravated cruelty to animals to be punished with heavy fines and/or imprisonment. At present, the penalty for animal cruelty is a mere $200, not nearly enough money to deter dog meat profiteers from abusing their canine cash cows. Animal protection groups working in South Korea believe that without a proper Animal Protection Law, the dog and cat meat trade will be impossible to stop. Amendments could be submitted to the National Assembly as soon as June of this year. We will keep our readers up to date on any developments in future e-news reports.

What You Can Do Take Action: Urge Korean Prime Minister to Strengthen Animal Protection Law  Write to the South Korean government and ask that they amend the Animal Protection Law as described above.  Ambassador Lee, Tae-Sik Embassy of the Republic of Korea 2450 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: (202)939-5600 Fax: (202)797-0595 E-mail: korinfo@koreaemb.org