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HSI rescuers transport 200 dogs saved from S Korean dog meat farm to US
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Friday, 13 January, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Wonju
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Rescuers with Humane Society International (HSI) transported 200 dogs saved from a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea, to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
This is the sixth dog meat farm closure managed by HSI, with a total of 770 dogs rescued since January 2015 as part of the organisation’s campaign to end the dog meat trade in South Korea and across Asia.
The dogs will be taken to animal shelters participating in the Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) Emergency Placement Partner programme (HSI is the international affiliate of the HSUS), where they will be placed for adoption as family pets in loving homes. The shelters are located in Florida, Virginia, Oklahoma and Ohio among other states.
The dog meat operation is located in Gangwon province, which is significant because Pyeongchang is the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
HSI is calling on the government to support a phase-out of dog meat farming and consumption ahead of the Olympics, and an ultimate ban on the trade.
Adam Parascandola, director, animal protection and crisis response, HSI, assisted in the dog rescue.
He said, “With the Winter Olympics just over a year away, now is the time for the Korean government to act to end the dog meat trade and let the world focus on the country’s preparations for a great sporting event, rather than on the terrible cruelty of being raised on farms for a product a few Koreans consume.”
“These rescued dogs will soon experience the compassion and care of humans that is not afforded to them at these farms. They will serve as ambassadors for the millions of others still suffering on dog meat farms in South Korea,” Parascandola added.
HSI has found, through its successful interventions over the past two years, that many people who run dog meat operations are eager to leave the trade and transition to new livelihoods.
The owner of this operation approached HSI after being urged by her daughter to give up the dog meat business and transition to another line of work.
The dogs on this farm include breeds of all kinds, such as cocker spaniels, English spaniels, beagles and Pyrenees, as well as mastiffs and Jindos, which are more commonly found on meat farms.
An estimated 30 million dogs are brutally killed each year, primarily in Asia, for the global dog meat trade. HSI is also waging campaigns in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and other Asian nations to stop the trade.
Most South Koreans don’t regularly eat dogs, and the practice is increasingly out of favour with the younger generation. They have never visited a dog meat farm, and are unaware of the suffering experienced by the dogs. HSI is keen to dispel the widespread misconception that farmed dogs are different in nature to companion dogs.
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