Thessaloniki, Greece: Tell your Sister City, Busan, Korea, that you oppose torture of dogs

Thessaloniki, Greece: Tell your Sister City, Busan, Korea, that you oppose torture of dogs

Started
May 15, 2022
Petition to
Thessaloniki, Greece Mayor Konstantinos Zervas and 40 others
Signatures: 20,912Next Goal: 25,000
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Why this petition matters

For more actions you can take, please click HERE. https://koreandogs.org/sister-city-busan-thessaloniki/

Petition: https://chng.it/mmrTm6hV

Thessaloniki, Greece: Tell your Sister City, Busan, South Korea, that you are opposed to torture and consumption of dogs and cats.

Busan became a sister city to Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2010. This relationship was undoubtedly formed in the spirit of friendship and for your mutual benefit, business links, trade, etc. And while Thessaloniki would have expected to learn about the differences in cultural practices of the Busan citizens, we feel confident that Thessaloniki would have hesitated to form such a Sister City relationship had your city known about the aberrant and cruel practices routinely carried out in the dog and cat meat trades in Busan 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, guidance and guardianship, and, of course, as our loving and trusting companions.

Dogs were first domesticated many 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, which shows remarkable willingness and intelligence.

In Busan, there are countless dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, and restaurants where the dogs, who have been tortured their entire lives, end up being slaughtered in the most inhumane ways, such as by electrocution, hanging or beating; and then thrown into boiling water – sometimes while they are still alive. In many places, dogs are being killed in full view of other terrified, caged dogs; and this takes place in public and in broad daylight. In addition, many abandoned and stolen former pets end up in this industry and are subject to the same cruelty.

Please watch this undercover video by animal rights activists in South Korea: Shocking Cruelty of the South Korean Dog Meat Industry.

Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_ZVQjgGb4RQ

Part 2 of 2: https://youtu.be/ivHffcM5B6w

There are laws in South Korea against selling dogs and cats for human consumption, yet these laws are routinely and blatantly ignored.

Please urge Busan Mayor Park Heong-Joon that Thessaloniki and their citizens demand Busan that they issue an official document mandating that the following existing Korean laws be 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 Management and Use of Livestock Excreta Act Article 11. The excrement produced at dog meat farms causes environmental damage to the immediate and surrounding area.

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 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 slaughter. 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 consumption is allowed only for the livestock animals that are publically announced as classification of livestock 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, violation of these laws is likely to happen routinely.

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 KARA (Korea Animal Rights Advocates): https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537 https://koreandogs.org/kara-publishes-legal-information-booklet-ending-dog-meat-consumption/

We believe these demands are in line with the goal of sister cities to establish friendly communications in 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 Busan, South Korea’s image, and severely tarnished your city’s sister city relationship. The time to end this tragedy is now. The favor of your reply is requested. 

On behalf of all the animals suffering unimaginable cruelty in the dog and cat meat industry, we thank you and await your reply.

Photo: Watchdog is at Busan Gangseo-gu Daejeo massive scale illegal dog farm to shut it down. https://koreandogs.org/watchdog-busan-gangseo-091721/

 

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Signatures: 20,912Next Goal: 25,000
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Mayor Konstantinos ZervasThessaloniki, Greece
  • Mayor Park Heong-JoonBusan, South Korea
  • 고대영 Ko Dae-YoungBusan Metropolitan Council
  • 구경민 Goo Kyung-MinBusan Metropolitan Council
  • 김광명 Kim Gwang MyeongBusan Metropolitan Council