Date
June 28, 2000
Contact
Elliot Katz, DVM
IDA
ek@idausa.org
415-388-9641, x25
Kyenan Kum
KAPS/IAKA
510-271-6795
In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley
CA 94941
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.
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Local Protest in Conjunction with a National Day of Action
San Francisco, CA...Members of In Defense of Animals (IDA), Korean Animal Protection Society (KAPS), International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA), and Asians for Humans, Animals and Nature (AHAN) will join forces on July 29, 2000, in front of San Francisco’s Korean Embassy (3500 Clay St., in Pacific Heights) from Noon to 2 p.m., to protest the illegal torture and murder of dogs and cats for human consumption in South Korea. To educate the public and the media, activists will be displaying graphic color images of the horrendous cruelty and torture that is currently taking place in Korea.
Although South Korea outlawed the "cooking and selling of dog meat" and "the infliction of unnecessary pain" in 1991, the law is not being enforced and thousands of restaurants continue to serve dog meat. Korean folklore asserts that the presence of adrenaline in dog meat is a sexual aphrodisiac, so dogs are beaten with hammers and then hanged to increase the amount of adrenaline in the meat – a process that slowly tortures them to death.
"The consumption of dog has never been a widespread or long established habit in Korea, although its advocates wish to hoodwink people into thinking it is so," said Kyenan Kum of KAPS and IAKA. "What officials don’t say is that we’re talking about a consumption rate of 700,000 tons of pork versus a mere 11,000 tons of dog meat. It is utterly ridiculous to imply that dog meat is a staple or, for that matter, even a preferred food of the Korean people."
"These protests are not an attack on Korean culture and history," said Elliot Katz, DVM, President of IDA. "Worldwide participation in these protests is proof that the concern is cruelty, not culture. In fact, we have been asked by members of the Korean community to assist in the effort to fight against the legalization of torturing and killing dogs for human consumption."
Simultaneous protests will also take place in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Jose.
Korean Dog Meat Rally Action Alert
Learn More About IDA's Campaign Against Dog Abuse in Korea