In an effort to shine a spotlight on the illegal trade in dog and cat meat thriving in South Korea, IDA and Animal Freedom Korea organized an international day of protest on July 15, 2005. This signified the first of Korea's Bok days, the hottest days of the year and the time of year when the most dogs are consumed. Why? Because there is a belief that eating the flesh of dogs who do not sweat will cool the consumer's body. Activists worldwide joined together to speak up for Korean dogs and cats in 16 demonstrations held throughout 12 countries including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania and the United States.
In San Francisco, 20 IDA members with their dogs joined IDA at the Korean Consulate to protest the cruel and illegal practices that the Korean Government is allowing to happen to “man’s best friend" while officials turn a blind eye. Over 5,000 petitions were presented to the Korean Consulate, all of which had been collected in just a few short weeks leading up to the demonstration.
Dear friends,
First of all, I would like to render my heartfelt appreciation to all of you for raising your voices against dog meat and cat juice to the Korean government on July 15.
On this historic day, we may have been physically apart across the world, but spiritually we were all united as one fighting for the same noble cause.
The protest held in Korea was relatively successful. The press showed a greater interest of our protest, especially our staged performance of brutally killing dogs.
Fortunately, the Korean press seems to be finally opening up to the contentious issue of dog meat consumption.
For until recently the majority of newspaper articles were heavily in favor of the dog meat culture, but now reporters appear to be maintaining more of a neutral stance towards this issue.
It is most unfortunate that some Asian countries including Korea still practice the evil and horrific custom of consuming dog meat. However, as long as we continue to fight against this practice together, I am more than confident that we will see the day when dog meat will be a taboo in these societies. Your invaluable and continued support, coupled with that of the Korean animal rights activists, would only contribute to bringing this day even closer.
I look forward to the day when our joint efforts across the globe for promoting the welfare of animals will bear fruit. Good luck to all of you, and thank you again.
Best regards,
Hee-kyung Jo
President
Animal Freedom Korea
307-18, Hangdang-dong, Songdong-gu,
Seoul, 133-070 South Korea
TEL 082-2-2292-6337
FAX 082-2-2292-6339
http://www.animals.or.kr (kor)
http://www.animalkorea.org (Eng)
e-mail : animal@animals.or.kr |
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Photos from Korean Dog
Demo
U.S. Cities
Atlanta,
Georgia
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Los
Angeles,
California
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San
Francisco,
California
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Washington,
D.C.
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Worldwide
Belgium
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Seoul, Korea
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Mexico
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Lima, Peru
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Barcelona, Spain
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Vancouver
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| Recent Campaign Developments |
International Day for Korean Dogs and Cats - July 15, 2005
Korean Government Seeks to Legalize Dog Meat
Animal Protection Amendment Passed.
1991 Animal Protection Law in need of
amendment
Animal People's
report on Korean cat and dog trade
Read about Animal Freedom Korea's anti-dog meat
campaign
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