The two-year-old Welsh Corgi was found killed and eaten by neighbor. / Yonhap
A missing dog has been found killed and eaten by a neighbor.
According to the Pyeongtaek Police Station, Tuesday, a woman in her 30s reported to the police that her lost dog might have been eaten by someone.
She lost her two-year-old Welsh Corgi in Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, March 4.
The woman offered 1 million won ($936) as a reward to find the dog and put up signs in the streets.
While she was searching for the dog, she got a tip from a friend who said, “Someone has eaten the dog.”
The suspect was a 63-year-old neighbor.
He told the police that the dog was barking too much in the yard so he threw a rock at it. Then the dog was knocked out so he strangled him with electric wires. [Korea Times]
I guess we will see how strictly this new law is enforced:
South Korea’s agriculture ministry said Wednesday it will implement a revised animal safety law to require dogs to wear a leash in public places, but it withheld a controversial plan to give cash rewards to those who report violators amid a backlash from animal lovers.
Starting from Thursday, dogs will be required to have a leash no longer than 2 meters in public places, and potentially dangerous breeds — pit bulls, Rottweilers, American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers — will have to wear muzzles as well.
Dog owners who fail to abide by the rules will be subject to penalties up to 500,000 won (US$466.40), which has been raised from the current 100,000 won. [Yonhap]
People are too quick to use the racism word, inappropriate is a more accurate description of this:
Patrick Roest, Jan Blokhuijsen and Sven Kramer of the Netherlands / Reuters
Dutch skater Jan Blokhuijsen has sparked a dog meat controversy at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
At Wednesday’s press conference for the men’s team pursuit speed skating event, in which his team won a bronze medal, Blokhuijsen said, “Please treat dogs better in this country.”
The comment came out of nowhere. When reporters did not have questions, his teammate Sven Kramer asked, “All Japanese (reporters)?” And then Blokhuijsen made the remark before they left the conference.
After the news went viral, many Koreans expressed fury, claiming that it was racist and ignorant of a different culture. Some claimed the case should officially be reported to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The IOC should punish him for making that racist statement,” a netizen said.
Another said, “The Korean government should file an official complaint. I think most young people do not eat dog meat anyway. But some still do, because that’s what we used to eat when we were poor and it became a custom.” [Korea Times]
"I don't eat dogs, but I am disgusted by those who preach that only animals deemed cuddly enough or friendly enough by Westerners deserve to live." My story on South Korea's dog-eating tradition & debates over 'Western hypocrisy" @AFPhttps://t.co/w1uAOOMhMZ
Members of a South Korean animal rights group perform in Insadong, central Seoul, on Dec. 24, 2017, to oppose the butchery of dogs and other animals. (Yonhap)
A U.S. soldier receives a bite from a military dog during a competition at the customs office in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Nov. 1, 2017, in which dogs trained for drug detection demonstrate their skills. (Yonhap)
A member of Save Korean Dogs, an activist group opposing the dog meat trade, stages a solo rally in Seoul on July 11, 2017, to express the group’s objection to eating dog meat and call for the government to enact a law prohibiting dog-meat consumption. (Yonhap)
Here is the latest from animal rights activist trying to stop the dog meat industry in South Korea:
Following the closure of most dog meat shops at Moran Market in Seongnam, animal rights activists are now targeting one of the largest dog meat markets in Seoul.
According to the Dongdaemun-gu Office, one of the six dog meat sellers at Gyeongdong Market in central Seoul closed his business last month after officials convinced him to so do.
This came after animal rights activists’ constant demands for banning the dog meat trade there.
“We have already responded to about 100 petitions on the issue this year,” a district official said. “It would be more than 1,000, including unofficial petitions by phone calls.”
The demand puts officials in a bind, in which they can do little to solve the issue. That’s because the current livestock hygiene laws do not classify dogs as livestock, and consequently can’t ban killing and sale of dogs, which makes it difficult for them to regulate the industry.
The only thing meat dealers must be cautious of is animal protection laws, which bans killing animals for no particular reason, killing them in a cruel way and killing them in front of other animals of the same kind.
Well aware of the laws, sellers usually electrocute dogs out of view of other dogs, which is legal. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but my biggest problem with dog farming in South Korea is that some of these farmers are very inhumane with dogs raised in small cages and then beaten to death to better tenderize the meat.
This photo from animal advocacy group CARE on May 14, 2017, shows the abandoned dog Tory, which will be adopted by President Moon Jae-in to become the “first dog.” Tory was rescued two years ago from a dog meat farm but was left unadopted because of prejudice against black dogs. Moon’s office said it was in talks with CARE on details for adopting Tory, which is set to become the world’s first abandoned dog to become a first dog. (Yonhap)
