Dog meat controversy flares up in South Korea during World Cup games

[Guest guest]

Dog meat controversy flares up in South Korea during

World Cup games

 

by Bryan Salvage on 6/17/02 for www.meatingplace.com

 

Every major sporting event in the world suffers at

least one well-publicized, major protest for one thing

or another. During the current World Cup soccer finals

in South Korea, the host nation has become the target

of animal rights protesters from around the world for

its long-held practice of eating dog meat. As well,

alleged mistreatment of those dogs destined for

harvesting is an equally important issue amongst

protesters.

 

These groups are calling dog meat consumption

" barbarous, " and they want it banned. This hot-button

issue flared up even before the games began. Many

Western animal activist groups began pleading with

soccer teams and fans to boycott the games long before

they began on May 31, according to reports.

 

Restaurants fighting back

 

But the games went on, and foodservice operators in

South Korea are now conducting a public relations

campaign of their own. A report from Ananova stated

that soccer fans were being treated to free steamed

burgers, sandwiches and soup made from dog meat in an

attempt by South Korean restaurateurs to sway

international opinion.

 

" Our campaign is aimed at advertising our traditional

food to foreigners to dispel their prejudices about

our food culture, " read a statement in part from 150

dog-meat restaurant owners. Estimates claim about 3

million of South Korea's 47 million people eat dog

meat. What's more, there are an estimated 6,000

dog-meat restaurants located throughout South Korea,

according to the report.

 

But the protest is raging on and it isn't coming only

from Western activists. Deutsche Presse-Agentur

reported that animal rights activists from 12 Asian

countries launched a campaign last Friday to protest

South Korea's dog meat-eating tradition. And this is

no seat-of-the-pants protest. Each of the 12 countries

(Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal,

the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka,

Taiwan and Thailand) reportedly aired videos allegedly

showing South Koreans dragging dogs destined for

slaughter by their ears and shoving them into tiny

cages.

 

These Asian protesters urged people from all 12

countries to contact South Korean singers and movie

stars in hopes of getting their support -- and both

the stars' e-mail addresses and street addresses were

even provided.

 

 

 

 

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