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https://koreandogs.org/sister-state-gangwon-colorado/

Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney: Tell Sister Province, Gangwon Province, South Korea, that you oppose the torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

Gangwon Province, South Korea, became a sister province with Colorado in 1991 and the Canadian province, Alberta, in 1974.

These relationships were undoubtedly formed in the spirit of friendship and for your mutual benefit, business links, trade, etc. And while your states would have expected to learn about the differences in cultural practices of the Gangwon Province citizens, we feel sure that your states would have hesitated to form such Sister State relationships had your states known about the aberrant and cruel practices routinely carried out in the dog and cat meat industries in Gangwon Province and all over South Korea. Lucrative but illegal trades carry on unchallenged: with no enforcement of the laws and no punishment for those violating them.

South Korea is the home to global companies, such as Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, LG, Daewoo, SK, and POSCO, which is why it is so shocking that an estimated 2.5 million dogs are tortured and slaughtered every year within South Korea because of the greed of dog eaters and the dog meat industry; while the majority of those Koreans, who don't participate in this offensive trade, show a profound indifference by doing nothing at all to stop it.

We know how loyal and faithful our dogs across the world are. We all ask a lot of them - they serve us in innumerable ways: farm work, war work, police, and guard duties, search and rescue, help for the disabled, guiding and guardianship, and, of course, as our loving and trusting companions.

Dogs were first domesticated thousands of years ago, and so much do they want to be part of our 'human' family that they have learned to understand our gestures and language - the language of another species- showing remarkable willingness and intelligence.

Gangwon Province is the largest dog meat supplier and consumption province in South Korea. Hundreds of dog farms, slaughterhouses, dog meat restaurants, and so-called “Health Centers” serve soup made of dog meat as an elixir. Dogs suffer their entire lives in utter misery in filthy, feces-encrusted raised wire cages, only to be slaughtered in the most horrific ways. They are killed by electrocution, hammer strikes to their head and necks, being hung, beaten to death, having their throats slit, being burned alive with a blowtorch, or thrown into a vat of boiling water while still alive. In many places in Gangwon Province, dogs are killed in full view of other terrified, caged dogs who tremble with terror. In addition, people’s beloved pets are often stolen and sold to these businesses, where they meet the same horrific fate. Dogs and puppies who died of diseases are tossed away like garbage, often left in front of cages to rot while the mother dogs watch and cry out in despair for their dead babies.

We ask you to please watch the undercover videos from South Korea’s dog meat industry:
Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ
Part 2 of 2: https://youtu.be/ivHffcM5B6w

We believe that there must surely be some social responsibility for the representatives of one state to take a stand against any wrongdoing being sanctioned or ignored by their Sister state. As such, we ask you to please urge Governor Kim Jin-tae to take action and to state that your state and its citizens demand that Gangwon Province issue an official document mandating that the following existing Korean laws enforced by its government officials, police, and judges:

The unauthorized processing of food waste fed to dogs in the meat trade violates the Wastes Control Act, Article 15-2, Article 25, Section 3. Suppliers of food waste and transporters of food waste to dog meat farms are violating this regulation.

Food waste fed to dogs in the dog meat trade violates the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act, Article 14, Section 1 & 2. The unauthorized collection of food waste and the act of feeding it to dogs in the meat trade violates this regulation.

Excrement and resulting environmental damage produced as a by-product of the illegal dog meat farm violate the Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Excreta Article 11. The excrement produced at dog meat farms causes environmental damage to the immediate and surrounding area.

The act of slaughtering dogs for human consumption violates the Animal Protection Act Article 8, Section 1, Clause 4. The act of slaughtering a dog without a justifiable ground – such as out of necessity for veterinary treatment or in circumstances of immediate threat, harm, or damage to human life or property- is a violation.

The slaughter of dogs by electrocution violates the Animal Protection Act, Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1. Inflicting injury or death to any animal by the following means: battery by tools, exposure to drugs, exposure to extreme heat or fire, electrocution, and drowning is subject to legal punishment. Therefore, the routine slaughter of dogs by butchers and farmers by these methods violates the Act. Further, electrocution as a method of slaughter is internationally recognized as an inherently cruel method of slaughter and banned globally.

The slaughter of dogs from an unauthorized slaughterhouse violates Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 7 Section 1. The Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act states that dogs are officially recognized and classified as "animals" that are "prohibited from being slaughtered and distributed as food for human consumption." Therefore, those vendors operating dog slaughterhouses are operating outside of the parameters of the law.

The slaughter of dogs for their own consumption violates the Animal Protection Act, Article 10. The Act intends to ensure that no animal is slaughtered in a cruel or revolting manner and shall be free from unnecessary pain, fear, or stress during the slaughter process. Therefore, the only humane way of slaughtering dogs would be by euthanasia (lethal injection). All currently practiced slaughter methods by butchers, farmers and traders exclude euthanasia as a method of slaughter. Therefore they are all in breach of this Act. This is also a violation of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act Article 7 Section 1 Clause 2. According to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, the slaughter of animals for their own consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals publicly announced as livestock classification in the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act and dogs are not classified here.

The display and sale of dog carcasses in traditional outdoor markets violate the Food Sanitation Act, Article 4, 5. Violation of laws banning the sale of harmful food due to the contamination from the unsanitary and illegal slaughter of the animal and display of the dog carcass. For example, dog carcasses are routinely contaminated by microorganisms that cause human diseases and food poisoning, leading to severe and life-threatening health complications. There are also strict laws that ban the sale of meat from sick animals. Because there is no quality control or proper monitoring of slaughter practices in the dog meat trade, likely, these laws are routinely violated.

Dog meat restaurants' sale of dog meat soup made with dog carcasses from an unknown source violates the Food Sanitation Act Article 44 Section 1 Clause 1. Uninspected livestock products must not be transported, stored, displayed, sold, or used to manufacture or process food for human consumption.

Please refer to the legal information regarding dog meat consumption in South Korea published by the Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA): https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 https://koreandogs.org/kara-publishes-legal-information-booklet-ending-dog-meat-consumption/.

The United States House of Representatives has formally passed H.Res. 401, "Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry and urges all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade." (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/401)

We believe these demands align with the goal of Sister States to establish friendly communications in the areas of tourism, commerce, cultural exchange, and public health.

International and Korean media coverage of the brutal dog and cat meat trade in South Korea has stained Gangwon Province, South Korea's image and severely tarnished your state's Sister-State relationship. The time to end this tragedy is now. The favor of your reply is requested.

Thank you for taking swift action!