An End to Cruelty and a Most Evil Trade

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Friends, we are now well aware of the scourge that is human trafficking, but I wish to bring awareness to another victim of trafficking that, to many, will be almost as upsetting and disturbing, and it often goes unreported.

Dogs have walked side-by-side with us humans for ten thousand years -- as companions, hunters, protectors, guides, allies, assistants, supporters, comforters, and closest of friends, and for that they deserve our undying gratitude, respect, and love.

That dogs are being trafficked, horrifically slaughtered, and then consumed by humans, in 2023, is to me an unutterable sin. But it's still happening in places like South Korea, a first-world country. Due to tough economic conditions farmers can find themselves turning to raising and trafficking dogs, and in appalling conditions, for the lucrative dog-meat industry. In this part of the world consuming dog-meat is a tradition, it's part of their culture. Well, to hell with tradition and culture. Let it burn, I say. And thank God there are indeed courageous souls now stepping in to help bring an end to it.

What's more, they are actively assisting dog-farmers to repurpose their land and transition their business to much more honest and wholesome ends -- growing vegetables for example...
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Closing South Korea’s dog meat farms
Humane Society International
https://www.hsi.org/news-resources/closing-south-korea-dog-meat-farms/


South Korea is the only known country in the world where dogs are routinely and intensively farmed for human consumption. Up to a million dogs are kept in thousands of facilities, left exposed to the elements in small, barren, filthy cages and given little food. Many suffer from disease and malnutrition and all are subjected to terrible, daily neglect. The methods used to kill the dogs are brutal—electrocution is most common. They are slaughtered in full view of other dogs, and their final moments are painful and terrifying.

Our ultimate goal is a ban on the dog meat industry, and our dog meat farm closures are part of a strategy to create the right political and societal circumstances to make this possible. One of the critical factors in achieving political support is showing that the dog meat industry can be successfully phased out in cooperation instead of conflict with the dog meat farmers, so we are working together with those who are eager to leave the dog meat industry to shut down their operations and transition to humane livelihoods.

Although some of the dogs we have rescued have found loving homes in South Korea, most have been flown to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands because, at present in South Korea, there is insufficient widespread acceptance of dog adoption, particularly for large-size dogs. There is also a misconception among some that “meat dogs” are different from “pet dogs,” a view that we are helping to change through public education and our many adoption stories that clearly show this is not the case.

Please give a little of your time to watch the following video. This one from Indonesia but very much related.

Parts of it are a difficult watch. If you love your dog, or your cat, a very difficult watch, but if you're passionate about this issue, it's important to understand what's really been going on, and for so very long, and to learn about the continuing efforts being made to resist and end this cruel and despicable industry.

100 Dogs Saved From Brutal Meat Market in Indonesia
18mins
Dog Rescue TV (https://www.youtube.com/@dogrescuetv/videos)
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[Jay82]

I could only watch a minute into that video, its too heartbreaking to watch. Why eat dog and cat meat i don't get it? Its because of a cultural thing really? Man, get up to speed with the times were not that primitive anymore i would hope to think. But maybe the economic situation drives them to do such things like it says. I ve never been that poor so i don't know what it's like. But eating dog meat would have to be a last resort for me.

[arjunaloka_official]

At the risk of being off-topic, but for reference:

Annual abortions: 73,000,000
Total World War 2: 80,000,000 (over 6-7 years, rough numbers only)
Annual animals killed for food: 92,200,000,000 (land animals only, sea animals is way worse)


-
https://blog.humanesociety.org/2023/06/more-animals-than-ever-before-92-2-billion-are-used-and-killed-each-year-for-food.html
https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-worldwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

[onevoice]

I'm with you, I stopped watching after seeing the dogs being carted away. How horrifying, just beyond incredible. I can't believe this is happening anywhere in the modern world.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

I could only watch a minute into that video, its too heartbreaking to watch.


I'm with you, I stopped watching after seeing the dogs being carted away. How horrifying, just beyond incredible.

Do persevere with the video if you can manage it. There are a few teeth-clenching moments, but the camera cuts before anything too gratuitous is shown. The reason I say keep watching is to see how they're putting an end to it, how these animals are being gradually rescued, rehabilitated -- saved. The over all energy of this documentary piece, although very gloomy in the beginning, becomes something uplifting by the end.

[Kryztian]

South Korea to ban eating dogs – media
The proposed bill may be named after the country’s first lady, who campaigned to end the controversial practice
https://www.rt.com/news/583082-korea-dog-meat-ban/

South Korean lawmakers are planning to introduce a legislation aimed at prohibiting the sale and consumption of dog meat, a controversial centuries-old custom which is neither explicitly banned nor legalized at the moment.

According to the media reports, the act was proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday and immediately drew support from the ruling People Power Party, which would bring enough votes to pass the bill.

“About 10 million South Korean households raise pets. Now is the time to put an end to dog eating,” the head of the ruling party’s policy committee, Park Dae-chul, said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Park, who is also the party's chief policymaker, used the term “Kim Keon Hee's bill,” referring to the first lady, Kim Keon Hee, who has been campaigning to end the country’s practice of eating dog meat. The naming, however, sparked criticism even from some fellow party members, who described it as “not pure” and accused Park of fawning over the president.

South Korean lawmakers are planning to introduce a legislation aimed at prohibiting the sale and consumption of dog meat, a controversial centuries-old custom which is neither explicitly banned nor legalized at the moment.

According to the media reports, the act was proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday and immediately drew support from the ruling People Power Party, which would bring enough votes to pass the bill.

“About 10 million South Korean households raise pets. Now is the time to put an end to dog eating,” the head of the ruling party’s policy committee, Park Dae-chul, said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Park, who is also the party's chief policymaker, used the term “Kim Keon Hee's bill,” referring to the first lady, Kim Keon Hee, who has been campaigning to end the country’s practice of eating dog meat. The naming, however, sparked criticism even from some fellow party members, who described it as “not pure” and accused Park of fawning over the president.

In recent years, the number of farms across South Korea has dropped by half, but still some 700,000 to a million dogs are being slaughtered each year, which is a decline from several millions a decade ago, according to the dog farmer’s association.

Previous attempts by the government to outlaw the dog meat industry altogether, were opposed by the dog farmers and restaurant owners for the fear of losing their livelihood. The farmers argue that dogs bred for their meat are different from pets.
https://www.rt.com/news/583082-korea-dog-meat-ban/

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Very good news! Let's hope the bill is passed and they follow through with it.

The video in the OP has been taken down unfortunately. Here's another from South Korea, from the same group, I believe, whose work revolves around rescuing dogs from the meat markets and ending this vile cruelty.

Anything gratuitous has been blurred out.
nzAglQuciNQ

[Peace in Oz]

Another cruelty for profits: Farmed Salmon and Asian Panga
A documentary about farmed fish in Norway and Vietnam.


- The farmed fish is five times more toxic than any product in the supermarkets.

- They suffer from genetic malformations, various diseases such a lices, liver diseases.

- They are treated with antibiotics, pesticides, washed in phosphate water, fattened at twice the rate of a wild fish.

- Under these fisheries 15 metres deep sediments with waste, food residues, bacteria
And it goes on and on ...

Farmed Norwegian Salmon World’s Most Toxic Food
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[Parsi-X]

I could not imagine a more abhorrent crime..I'm sorry I cannot stomach the thought of our best friends being harmed.

[Kryztian]

Very good news! Let's hope the bill is passed and they follow through with it.



Your wish just came through, although it will take several years to implement.

South Korea bans consumption of dogmeat
Lawmakers have voted to end the traditional practice by 2027
https://www.rt.com/news/590352-south-korea-dog-meat-ban/

South Korea’s parliament voted on Tuesday to ban the sale and consumption of dog meat, which was once a widespread practice in the East Asian country.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee, who owns six dogs and eight cats, have been vocal advocates of the ban since it was first proposed in September. In Tuesday’s vote, 208 out of 300 lawmakers voted in favor, while two abstained.

“I never thought I would see in my lifetime a ban on the cruel dog meat industry in South Korea, but this historic win for animals is testament to the passion and determination of our animal protection movement,” JungAh Chae, the executive director of Humane Society International Korea, said in a statement after the vote, calling it “history in the making.”

“While my heart breaks for all the millions of dogs for whom this change has come too late, I am overjoyed that South Korea can now close this miserable chapter in our history and embrace a dog-friendly future,” Chae added.

The law bans the raising, slaughter and sale of dog meat for human consumption starting in 2027. Penalties for violators include fines of up to 30 million won ($22,800) or up to three years in prison. There is no penalty for consumption.

Koreans used to consume dog meat to cope with the summer humidity, according to Reuters, but have increasingly moved away from the tradition as the animals have come to be viewed as family pets, not food.

A survey released on Monday showed that 94% of respondents had not eaten dog in the past year, and 93% said they did not intend to do so in the future. It was conducted by the Seoul-based think-tank Animal Welfare Awareness, Research and Education.

Breeders and sellers from the Korean Association of Edible Dogs have said that the ban will affect 3,000 restaurants and about 3,500 farms raising approximately 1.5 million dogs. April 2022 figures from the Agriculture Ministry put those numbers at 1,600 restaurants, 1,100 farms and 570,000 dogs.

At a protest in December, dog farmers threatened to release two million canines if the government proceeded with the ban. Ju Yeong-bong, head of the Korea Dog Meat Farmers’ Association, argued at the time that it was ”a violent act of barbarism to deprive individuals of their right to eat.”

The government sought to allay the concerns of dog farmers by offering a grace period and compensation so they could switch careers. Animal rights activists have opposed this, arguing that the farmers would demand “unrealistically high” sums. Meanwhile, the farmers said both they and their main customers are people over 60, and are too old to change their ways or start a new business.

https://www.rt.com/news/590352-south-korea-dog-meat-ban/

[s7e6e]

Cows can exhibit almost the same level of intelligence as dogs. Pigs are smart too.
So how exactly is beef and pork different than dog meat?

I'm asking this question to myself as well, having tried being a vegan for a full year and rediscovering the world with different eyes.

[Brigantia]

Cows can exhibit almost the same level of intelligence as dogs. Pigs are smart too.
So how exactly is beef and pork different than dog meat?

I'm asking this question to myself as well, having tried being a vegan for a full year and rediscovering the world with different eyes.

A valid point. I became vegetarian in the 1980s after my walk into work took me past a slaughterhouse. The animals knew something bad was ahead and tried to turn back, but they were beaten onwards. I didn't like meat as a child, but back then I had to condition myself to eat it as that's what everybody did in those days, and those who didn't were considered seriously weird.

I have to say though - everything that you eat has to be killed, and that includes plants. With my home-grown produce I do feel sadness at harvesting them, delicious though they are. That is the way of nature though - everything has to eat something that is living, whether it is lions tearing into a terrified zebra, or cows tearing away at grass.

The best spiritual teacher I ever met said, "it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you honour your food source". Maybe that's why grace was always said before a meal.

[Ewan]

Maybe that's why grace was always said before a meal.

Amen to that. :)

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[Kryztian]

It's one thing to eat animals. Another to publicly torture them in ritualistic fashion.

Peruvian leaders push for end to ‘cat barbecues,’ say they are a throwback to Spanish colonial rituals
https://cuencahighlife.com/peruvian-leaders-push-for-end-to-cat-barbecues-say-they-are-a-throwback-to-uncivilized-spanish-colonial-rituals/

A Peruvian congressman has joined animal rights activists in their effort to stop the consumption of barbecued cats at an annual religious festival.

The activists say at least 100 cats will be eaten at this weekend’s festival of Santa Efigenia in La Quebrada, a town south of Lima. In addition to barbecues, the festival includes a variety of activities, inlcuding cat races and even live cat roasting, all of which activists say constitute animal cruelty.

Congressman Juan Urquiza joined activists this year to write the district mayor and Peru’s health minister and demand a ban on cat-eating under a domestic animal protection law.

Activists also claim that dining on felines is a public health danger.

Health Minister Midori de Habich says the practice should be halted. But she has taken no action.

La Quebrada residents defend their tradition and say the cats sacrificed are specially bred with only a handful killed and eaten.

Urquiza claims that the cat festivals are a throwback to a 16th and 17th century European tradition of torturing and eating cats. “It has no place in the civilized world,” he said. The tradition was brought to Latin America by the Spanish and was widely practiced in the Andean region of South America.

Cat roastings were held in Cuenca in the 1700s and the Spanish Governor, Jose Antonio Vallejo, encouraged families to come to the central plaza, now Parque Calderon, on Sunday nights to watch cats in wire mesh cages being lowered into a fire. According to Gonzalez Suarez, a Spanish historian, “The caterwauling and writhing of the burning felines always delighted and amused the spectators.” To read the article, click here.

Once the animals were roasted to death, they were given to spectators to eat.