South Korea’s Shame: “Man’s Best Friend” on the Butcher’s Block
Mat Thomas - The Animal World 

Imagine yourself strolling down a street in South Korea, thrilling to the sights and sounds of a vibrant cultural landscape, when you come upon a large market covering several city blocks. Amidst the smoky tendrils and thick smells of cooking, you stumble on something that defies expectation: Dogs crammed tightly together in cages with barely enough room to move, their faces the very picture of misery and terror. Why are they here? You find out soon enough when a customer approaches and points to one. An attendant roughly removes the crying dog from the cage and bashes his head repeatedly with a heavy club. With blood seeping out of the dog’s skull and onto his fur, the attendant proceeds to throw him into a cauldron of boiling water. After removing him, the attendant uses a knife to peel the dog’s skin off, chars his flesh brown with a torch, and chops his carcass into pieces. Handed a plate piled high with cubes of dog meat, the restaurant patron begins to eat his dinner. 

Millions of innocent canines are slaughtered every year in South Korea for the illegal dog meat trade. At least one third of these dogs are stolen from loving homes, while the rest are either captured as strays or bred on farms in remote rural areas. Even though the vast majority of Koreans don’t eat dog meat, it is sold in nearly 10,000 restaurants throughout the country to meet the demands of those who do. Dog meat typically sells for several times the price of other meats, so even though its sale is strictly prohibited under South Korean law, the trade persists because profits are high, and profiteers use their influence to convince authorities to turn a blind eye. In recent months, the Government has even proposed instituting sanitary inspections of dog meat production, a move that would effectively legalize, and probably increase, the killing and consumption of dogs. 

Some Koreans superstitiously believe they can keep cool in hot weather by eating dog meat because canines do not sweat, so summertime brings a surge in the consumption of dogs. The first of the country’s "Bok days" (which literally means the hot, dog days of summer) recently took place on July 15, so In Defense of Animals held its International Day for Korea’s Dogs and Cats (Koreans consume cats in smaller numbers than dogs) on that date to raise public awareness of the brutality involved in the dog meat trade. Activists held demonstrations in front of Korean consulates and embassies in many U.S. cities and in 11 other countries around the world, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Spain, Tanzania and South Korea. International Day is part of a sustained effort by dedicated animal advocates to demand that the South Korean Government enforce the laws of their own country and end the torture and slaughter of dogs for meat once and for all. To find out more and learn how you can help, visit www.idausa.org/campaigns.html.