South Korea shuts down its largest dog meat slaughterhouse

By: Alicia Graef From Care2

Animal advocates are celebrating a major milestone among efforts to end the dog meat trade in South Korea with the closure of the country’s largest slaughterhouse.

It’s estimated that around 2.5 million dogs are raised and slaughtered for their meat every year in South Korea, which is the only country that allows intensive farming of dogs for human consumption.

While the numbers are as staggering as they are heartbreaking, animal advocates are continuing to raise awareness about the conditions dogs are kept and killed in within this industry, working towards seeing it banned, and rescuing those they can.

Now, they’re applauding officials in Seongnam for acting to close Taepyeong, which was, until now, the largest slaughterhouse in the country.

According to Humane Society International (HSI), which had a team there to witness the closure, along with members from Korea Animal Rights Advocates and the Korean Animal Welfare Association, the conditions on the property were horrifying. It was left with empty pens that once held hundreds of dogs, equipment used to electrocute them to death, knives and a machine to remove their hair, along with the bodies of dogs who had been abandoned there.

Now, however, the property is going to be transformed from a place of brutality to a community park for residents to enjoy. Five of the six buildings used as slaughterhouses will be bulldozed immediately, while all of the cages and equipment left behind in the last one will be destroyed, ensuring that nothing there is left operational.

“Both as a Korean citizen and an animal campaigner, it was incredibly moving for me to a part of the historic closure of this notorious dog slaughterhouse. I shudder to think how many millions of beautiful dogs will have met their horrific fate at this place over the years. It was a stain on the city of Seongnam and we are so pleased to see it bulldozed. This really feels like a landmark moment in the demise of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and sends the clear message that the dog meat industry is increasingly unwelcome in Korean society,” said Nara Kim, HSI/Korea’s dog meat campaigner.

While millions of dogs are still at risk, and there is still a lot of work to be done to shut this industry down once and for all, public attitudes are changing for the better, particularly among younger generations, farmers continue to express interest in transitioning to other lines of work, and there have been a number of other successes that point to this industry’s demise. HSI also noted that this operation will end with shutting down the last “brick & mortar” vendor selling live dogs at Moran Market, which used to be the biggest dog meat market in the country.

“We have been making constant efforts to shut down the Taepyeong-dong dog slaughterhouse through investigations and putting pressure on Gyeonggi province and Seongnam-si. As Korea’s biggest, brutal, illegal dog slaughterhouse, Taepyeong-dong is notorious for supplying huge amounts of dog bodies to nearby Seongnam Moran traditional market. Its closure is an historical event, and hopefully may trigger the closure of other illegal dog slaughterhouses throughout the country. Until we achieve this, we really appreciate the support of both Korean people and global citizens who love animals for helping our campaigns to completely end dog meat in Korea,” said Hyunji Kim of Korea Animal Rights Advocates.

For more on how to help, check out Humane Society International at website link below

IMAGES:

Photo credit: Getty Images

South Korea Dog Meat Slaughterhouse RescueCredit: Michael Bernard/HSI

South Korea Dog Meat Slaughterhouse RescueCredit: Michael Bernard/HSI

hsus_photo_462003Credit: Michael Bernard/HSI

South Korea Dog Meat Slaughterhouse RescueCredit: Michael Bernard/HSI

South Korea Dog Meat Slaughterhouse RescueCredit: Michael Bernard/HSI

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