Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 Contents: 1. Urgent Plea to Animal Welfare Organizations, Korean Animal Groups, and Individual Animal Activists 2. Sample Protest Letter 3. Updated List of Addresses for President Bush and Korean Government Officials 4. Korean Animal News Clipping With the World Cup 2002 games drawing ever-nearer, and an upcoming visit by US President George Bush to South Korea to meet with President Kim, Dae-Jung, your letters are URGENTLY needed to make of the most of this rare opportunity to press for significant improvements in South Korea's animal welfare system. Please use our sample letter below, or better still, use your own words to implore the decision-makers to implement change that will spare millions of dogs and cats from the hands of butchers. When writing your letters, please emphasize that it is the total and complete abolition of the dog and cat meat trade that needs to happen, rather than regulation of the farming and slaughtering processes. Many animal groups are currently taking this latter approach (focusing exclusively on the cruelty aspect), mistakenly believing this will spare the animals from being tortured, but regulating the slaughter of dogs and cats will not raise the status of dogs and cats, but will instead strip them of any chance at being accepted and regarded as " companion animals. " Please don't inadvertently assist the Korean government by giving them a loophole for adding dogs and cats to the Livestock and Sanitation laws. Avoid reference to animal cruelty, and instead, mention one or all of these key points: 1. Korea is an upwardly mobile country with little poverty, and it isn' t necessary to eat dog meat when there are other foods available. 2. Koreans are intelligent people, and should know better than to believe the myth that dog meat and cat juice are healthful. 3. Tradition or not, dog-eating has no place in modern society, and it can only improve Korea's image to abolish the cat and dog-meat trades. Dear President Kim, Despite the 1984 Ministry of Health law banning dog-meat soup and the 1991 law enacted to protect dogs and cats from torture and slaughter, dogs and cats are still not safe in South Korea. Several South Korean politicians and the Korean media continue to claim that dog-eating is a centuries old tradition, but in truth, Korean cultural heritage does not include torturing and eating dogs and cats. Boiling cats alive to make " medicine " never existed before the 1980s, when the idea was first promoted by dog dealers as a money-making scheme. Until the 1980s, dog-eating was a back alley vice practiced by men seeking to boost their sexual stamina. President Kim, even if eating dogs and drinking cat juice were cultural traditions, isn't it time to abandon these barbaric practices that so many people around the world find disgusting, cruel and barbaric? These repulsive practices are totally unnecessary. As human civilization and cultures evolve, many nations have shed so-called " traditions " that are rooted in cruelty, suffering and subjugation. Isn't it time Korea follows suit? Korean dog butchers also emphasize that dogs reared for slaughter and consumption are " food " dogs, as opposed to " pet " dogs. But despite how they look on the outside, all dogs suffer the same pain when they are beaten, blowtorched, hanged and electrocuted. Please institute new laws that will protect dogs and cats from being tortured and consumed. Failure to do will not only hurt South Korea's public image, but will perpetuate the negative stereotype of Koreans as nothing more than heartless, dog-eating barbarians. Sincerely, (Your Name Here) President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Email president Ask President Bush to address your concerns about Korea's illegal cat and dog meat trade when he meets with President Kim in Korea in February, 2002. (FYI, President Bush has two dogs, Barney and Spotty, and a cat named India.) President Kim, Dae-Jung Blue House 1 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu Seoul, South Korea 110-050 Webmaster Ask President Kim, Dae-Jung to establish a new law that will protect dogs and cats from being butchered and eaten. ======================================= Prime Minister Lee, Han-Dong 77-6 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu Seoul, South Korea 110-050 m_opm Ask Prime Minister Lee, Han-Dong to establish a new law that will protect dogs and cats from being butchered and eaten. ======================================= Representative Ham, Suk-Jae Chairman of The Standing Committee of the Agriculture, Forestry, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries National Assembly 1 Yoido-dong, Youngdungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea 150-702 Phone : 02-788-2960 Fax : 02-788-3361 afec Ask Representative. Ham, Suk-Jae to reject (or dismiss) the new bill that seeks to include dogs in livestock production and sanitation introduced by Representative Kim, Hong-Shin ====================================== Minister Choi, Sun-Jung The Ministry of Health and Welfare 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 wmaster Ask Minister Choi, Sun-Jung to enforce the 1984 law introduced to stop eating dog soup. ====================================== Minister Kim, Dong-Tae The Ministry of Agriculture 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 minister Ask Minister Kim, Dong-Tae to introduce and enforce a new law to stop killing dogs and cats. ======================================== Minister Kim, Myung-Ja The Ministry of Environment 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 minister Ask Minister Kim, Myung-Ja to foster animal welfare education and to support humane treatment of feral and stray cats ================================= Mr. Yang, Kyu-Hwan Korean Food and Drug Administration 5 Nokbun-dong, Unpyoung-gu Seoul, South Korea 122-704 kh1yang Ask Mr. Yang, Kyu-Hwan to uphold the law by ensuring that the 1984 Food Sanitation Law is enforced. ================================== Governor Yu, Kun-Man Governor of Jeju Province 312-1, Yeon-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 690-700 TEL. 82-64-710-2362, wookm Ask Governor Yu, Kun-Man to cancel the building permit for a dog farm in Jeju Island Province. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_494376.html?menu=news.latestheadlines Rally to promote South Korea's dog meat culture cancelled A rally to promote dog meat in South Korea has been cancelled. Organisers could not find a venue because of protests by animal rights activists. Hundreds of dog meat restaurateurs had planned to hold the rally at an auditorium belonging to a telecommunications office in Ilsan near Seoul. The local office of KT Corp, South Korea's largest telephone operator, told the organisers last weekend it could not lease its facility because of hundreds of protest phone calls. The rally was intended as a protest against an expected government crackdown on dog meat restaurants ahead of this year's soccer World Cup, which is being co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. The Japanese don't eat dog meat. KT says it agreed to lease its facility in November after being told the rally was to promote start-up businesses. There was no mention of dog meat, it says. " It's nonsense that a government-affiliated company let its facility be used to promote dog meat, " Yoon Han-kyong, an animal rights activist, said on SBS-TV. South Korea has no law governing the sale of dog meat. The government banned the food during the 1988 Seoul Olympics by invoking a law that prohibits the sale of " foods deemed unsightly " . After the Olympics, the ban was not strictly enforced. Story filed: 05:46 Monday 14th January 2002 Kyenan Kum International Aid for Korean Animals Korea Animal Protection Society P.O. Box 20600, Oakland, 94620-0600, USA www.koreananimals.org iaka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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