CommentsANIMAL RIGHTS-As readers of CityWatch know, the City of Los Angeles has done much to promote the end of the dog meat trade in other countries.
On July 3, 2019, the LA City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting legislation or administrative action that would request the governments of China, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, and Cambodia to ban the sale of dog meat and enforce their animal cruelty laws. See CityWatch article here.
As stated in the City Council resolution:
“[I]t is estimated that 10 to 20 million dogs in China, 5 million dogs in Vietnam, and one million dogs each in South Korea. Indonesia, and Cambodia are killed for food each year…
“[D]ogs in these countries are kept in cramped, rusty cages stacked on top of each other, and slaughtered in brutal ways such as hanging or electrocution, due to an erroneous belief that high adrenaline levels will produce tender meat and increase the supposed health benefits of consuming dog.”
Since that time, great progress has been made in ending the dog and cat meat trade in several countries, including China, and in some cities in South Korea and Indonesia. See CityWatch articles.
But South Korea has not enforced its animal welfare laws to completely ban the torture and killing of millions of dogs and cats. A bill is pending in the South Korean National Assembly to completely ban dog and cat meat and provide for stronger enforcement. It is Bill Number 7035 -- Proposed Partial Amendments to the Animal Protection Act -- introduced and sponsored by Congresswoman and Minister of Environment Han Jung-Ae along with nine of her fellow Assembly members.
The upcoming visit by South Korean President Moon Jae-In (photo above, left) to the United States and his meeting with President Biden may be an opportune time to encourage President Moon to do what he can to end the dog meat trade. The organization KoreanDogs.org and its founder Giny Woo have started a petition to ask President Biden to raise the fate of South Korea’s dogs when he meets with President Moon on May 21. The link to the petition is here.
The petition states in part:
“Dear President Biden,
I write to you today ahead of your meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-In later this month. I know you will have pressing geopolitical and trade issues to discuss around China and North Korea.
However, as a dog lover and advocate, I urge you to raise with President Moon what is a profound moral issue: the plight of the millions of dogs in South Korea who are savagely butchered each year for their meat. They are raised in wire cages and never feel a kind touch before they are blowtorched or bludgeoned to death.
South Korea has an Animal Protection Act, and the slaughter of dogs for consumption stands in direct violation of its Articles 8 and 10. …
It is tragically evident that South Korea's Animal Protection Act goes unenforced.
The United States is a nation that cares deeply about animals, especially its companion animals, and, as such, must be a global leader by taking a stand against such barbarity. …
Please use the power of your office to advocate for the dogs in South Korea. …”
If you oppose the torture and killing of dogs in South Korea, please sign this petition. You can also send an email to the White House at this address.
If you send an email, you can mention the fact that your City of Los Angeles has passed a resolution opposing the dog meat trade. The City Council file is here.
To learn more about the dog meat trade and take further action, please see the KoreanDogs.org website.
If you have any ambivalence about the dog meat trade, please watch the following videos:
Undercover video of South Korean Dog Meat Industry.
What’s Happening in a Dog Farm in South Korea.
(Jeffrey Mausner (www.MausnerLaw.com) is the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils Liaison to the Los Angeles Animal Services Department, 2nd Vice President of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council and Chair of its Animal Welfare Committee, and a Volunteer at the West Valley Animal Shelter. He was previously a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate and is now a Budget Representative. He is a retired attorney and law school professor and was formerly a Federal Prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
