Update on Korean dogs and cats from IAKA and KAPS

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

 

 

Forwarded is the latest IAKA update on Korean dogs and cats.

 

 

 

The Korean government tried to legalise dog meat trade in the past and is likely

to do so again. Unfortunately the Korean government never seems to understand

how seriously the dog and cat meat trade damages Korea's interests. The only way

to stop them from continuously seeking ways of legalising dog meat while doing

nothing or as little as possible to clamp down the trade is to deliver a

coherent and strong message against the inhumane trade from all sides.

 

 

 

With endangered wildlife, the Korean government passed a strong law against not

only those who kill the animals but also those who consume them. They never

attempted to defend the practice of eating parts of a tiger, a bear, etc. as

Korea's culture. This was possible because no animal group told the Korean

government to kill them humanely and then go on to consuming them. Therefore,

please remember and actively inform people that what the Korean government need

to hear is not ‘please don’t torture the animals while you are killing them’ but

‘stop the dog and cat meat trade and expel the groundless health myth’.

Otherwise, the Korean government will never permanently give up its intention of

legalising dog meat.

 

 

 

Please give all your support if IAKA and KAPS decide to initiate another major

protest campaign, which will depend on the outcome of their talk with the Korean

government. In the meantime, continue to participate in IAKA and KAPS’ existing

campaign.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/help.htm#government

 

 

 

Please also help Korean animals by correcting the misconceptions that prolonged

the misery of Korean dogs and cats. We cannot solve a problem without tackling

the cause. You can find many useful articles on the subject from the below link.

Please share them with as many people as possible.

 

http://www.friendsofdogs.net/articles.html

 

..

 

 

 

Thank you for your kindness to Korean animals.

 

 

 

 

 

Yoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

iakakaps [iaka]

19 January 2005 17:43

iaka

Update

 

Dear friends of Korean animals,

 

As you all know, we have been recently campaigning against the Korean

government's attempt to legalize dog and cat meat trade through the definition

of pet animals. Although we were rather disappointed that the Korean government

did not accept our proposed definition of companion animals which would have

established a solid legal basis for protecting all dogs and cats as companion

animals in the Animal Protection Law Amendment, we were much relieved when KAPS

was told that the Ministry of Agriculture decided to drop the dangerous

definition of pet animals. Unfortunately it came to our notice that the Ministry

of Agriculture is under pressure to change its mind and may need to introduce a

new definition of companion animals as below.

 

'Companion animals are animals mainly raised for companionship and emotional

development, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture.'

 

This means that the Ministry of Agriculture will have the power to decide what

counts as companion animals. If the Ministry of Agriculture decide that

companion animals are registered dogs and cats and exclude dogs and cats raised

for human consumption from the object of the pet animal registration scheme they

are going to introduce, this will effectively justify the distinction between

pet dogs/cats and food dogs/cats in the eyes of law. We are very concerned about

this development and are talking to the Ministry of Agriculture to adopt our

proposed definition of companion animals if they intend to introduce a

definition of companion animals in the Amendment.

 

That the Korean government did not give up their intention of legalizing dog and

cat meat trade has been confirmed by the fact that the Ministry of office for

Government Policy Coordination held a meeting to discuss hygienic control of the

dog meat. Without tacit approval of dog meat, such a meeting cannot take place.

We cannot but suspect that the government officials were trying to discuss a

possibility of legalizing dog meat trade after making a legal distinction

between pet dogs and food dogs. The participants in the meeting included the

infamous Dr. Dogmeat (a well-known fanatical advocate of dog meat) and a

representative from dog meat trade, a clear sign that the discussion was never

intended for genuine hygiene or environmental concern but was held to please dog

meat traders.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture assured Sunnan that the legalization of dog meat

cannot happen at least for a while because there is no consensus for legalizing

dog meat among the general public in Korea and no government department wants to

take on such an unpopular and troublesome task. We cannot however take comfort

from their assurance if they keep trying to legitimize the distinction between

food dogs/cats and pet dogs/cats through a definition of companion animals. We

are waiting for a reply from the Ministry of Agriculture over our concerns. We

will start another major protest campaign and inform all of you if we suspect

that the Korean government will legalize or take serious steps to legalize dog

meat anytime soon.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Sunnan and Kyenan Kum

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Aid for Korean Animals

Korea Animal Protection Society

P.O. Box 20600, Oakland, 94620-0600, USA

www.koreananimals.org

iaka

(Tel.) 510-271-6795

(Fax) 510-451-0643

 

 

 

______

 

 

 

Friends of dogs

http://www.friendsofdogs.net

Dogs brighten our life with their gift of love. It is our turn to help our dogs.

Please help organisations who are fighting to get dogs out of the food chain.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://www.linisgobyerno.org/special_projects.htm

 

 

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