In Defense of Animals (IDA) has learned that two million South Korean dogs are electrocuted, strangled, or bludgeoned to death each year. Then they're boiled, skinned, browned by a torch, chopped up and eaten.
All of this cruelty and suffering is enough to make you sick.

Where do the dogs come from?

Thirty percent are stolen from families that love them. Most are homeless dogs, captured by butchers and sold in open markets.

The tragic reality is that authorities are giving the dog meat trade their silent blessing by turning a blind eye to this outrageous bloodbath even though Korean law forbids the sale and consumption of dog meat. The country's Animal Protection Law, which was passed in 1991 considers dogs to be "domestic pets."

Let me assure you the eating of dog meat isn't based on any deeply rooted Korean tradition. Koreans have only eaten dogs when poverty has been widespread, as was the case during World War II. Even in those hard times, dogs were treated as companion animals.

Now, however -- with the unspoken blessing of the government, greedy, unscrupulous dog traders in South Korea propagate the myth that canine meat increases male sexual prowess and general health. This illegal industry has organized itself well. It bribes government officials and police, hires thugs to intimidate animal welfare campaigners, and persuades newspapers to extol the "virtues" of dog meat.

Although the vast majority of Koreans don't eat dog meat, official figures indicate there are at least 6,484 stores nationwide dealing in this horrific trade.

"It's inconceivable to me that a being we consider 'man's best friend' could be so brutally killed, skinned, and butchered." --Elliot M. Katz, DVM

"I asked about the eating of dogs and was told over an over that it didn't happen anymore. You can imagine my shock and horror upon getting lost in one of the huge markets in downtown Taegu. I looked down and saw the head of a dog with its legs stuffed in its mouth. I saw limbs that were skinned. Everywhere I turned there were dogs in cages. The smell was overwhelming. That market, that sweltering hot August day, was what I envisioned hell to be like." –An American teacher in South Korea