Date
July 19, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps
(757) 423-0093
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Activists Worldwide Gather to Condemn South Korean Cat and Dog Torture
Members of In Defense of Animals Stage Protest Outside of South Korean Consulate
Los Angeles, Calif.—Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA) will join activists from Atlanta to Tanzania to “beg” the South Korean Government to enforce laws prohibiting the beating, hanging, burning, electrocution and boiling alive of dogs and cats for consumption.
This year’s global day of action, co-sponsored by South Korean animal protection groups CARE and KAAP, will be held on July 20, 2006, to coincide with the first of South Korea’s “Bok Days” (literally, the hot, dog days of summer). South Korea’s dog meat consumption increases during this time of year because some superstitiously believe they can keep cool by eating animals who do not sweat.
Los Angeles, Calif.
When: Thursday, July 20th from 11:00 a.m.
Where: Republic of Korea Consulate General in Los Angeles, 3243 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: Bill Dyer (310) 301-7730 or (917) 309-8973
San Francisco, Calif.
When: Thursday, July 20 from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Where: South Korean Consulate, 3500 Clay Street, San Francisco
Contact: Melissa Gonzalez (415) 388-9641, ext. 228 or (415) 305-8633
Atlanta, Ga.
When: Thursday, July 20, 2006, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Korean Consulate, 229 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Contact: Dino Vlachos (404) 964-3486
Vancouver, BC.
When: Thursday, July 20th at 11:30 a.m.
Where: Republic of Korea Consulate General in Vancouver, 1600 - 1090 West Georgia
Contact: Christine Carter (604) 583-4237
A series of shocking cruelties to animals were recently reported in South Korea, spurring international outrage over the country’s lack of animal protection laws. The country remains one of the few places in the world where dog meat is still eaten.
The horrific conditions in which dogs are raised for meat on farms - as documented during these investigations - are tragically all too common in South Korea. Not only are the trade in and consumption of dog meat still common, but the dogs are raised in the most hideous and cruel environments. Abuse is also prevalent on puppy mills (“pet” breeding farms) and in government-assigned shelters for stray animals.
The country’s proposed amendment to the Animal Protection Law is still far behind general global standards and fails to include basic provisions to prevent cruelty to animals. The amended bill falls short of even neighboring Taiwan’s Animal Protection Law, which was revised 10 years ago.
Protestors will demand the following:
- That the South Korean Government strengthen the existing Animal Protection Law and introduce basic animal welfare regulations
- That the South Korean Government abandon its Policy on Sanitary Management of Dog Meat and create an enforceable law to ban the dog meat trade
The government must introduce policies to outlaw the sale of dog meat. Without forbidding dog meat consumption and amending the Animal Protection Law to the global standard, South Korea will remain a nation stuck in the shadow of progressive countries that recognize animal abuse is intolerable.
“It’s inconceivable that, as the rest of the world is strengthening animal protection laws, the South Korean Government is allowing ‘man’s best friends’ to be boiled alive, beaten, butchered and eaten under its knowing watch,” says IDA president and founder Elliot M. Katz, DVM.
For more information on IDA and its South Korean Animals Campaign, please visit www.IDAUSA.org.