Team member and volunteers from Humane Society International welcome pet dogs saved from the dog meat market in South Korea to a care and rehab center co-run by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States. Kevin Wolf/AP Images for the HSUS
The lucky 34 pet dogs who showed up in the United States previously this month have actually come rather a long method because our animal rescue responders very first experienced them as victims of the dog meat market in South Korea.
Back in July, I informed you about 21 pet dogs, whose fate doubted after federal government authorities closed a dog meat farm that was running unlawfully in Ansan city, Gyeonggi Province. Simply days prior to the start of Bok Nal, which marks the most popular days of summertime in between July and August, when taking in dog meat is most popular, Humane Society International/Korea and partner company Korean K9 Rescue took custody of these animals and put them in care. The pet dogs were quarantined and gotten veterinary care, vaccinations and socializing.
In July, Humane Society International/Korea and Korean K9 Rescue actioned in to save pet dogs from a prohibited dog meat farm in Ansan, South Korea. Jean Chung for HSI
Now, 19 of them are at our animal care and rehab center near Washington, D.C., where they are getting extra care and social enrichment, on the next leg of their journey to caring houses. With them on their journey from Seoul were 15 dog meat market survivors from other farms and alarming scenarios who have actually likewise been offered an opportunity to begin a brand-new life. Quickly, soon, they’ll be delighting in brand-new lives with caring households, not simply survivors of a trade that declares the lives of an approximated 1 million pet dogs each year in South Korea, however ambassadors for the proposal that no dog need to crave that trade. I could not be more glad that we remained in a position to assist them. When it comes to the 2 pet dogs from Ansan who stay in South Korea– Hazel and Lucy– they brought to life young puppies after their rescue, young puppies who, fortunately, will never ever understand the scaries of the meat trade. They’ll all fly to brand-new futures once the puppies are old enough.
Our method to ending the dog meat market in South Korea and in other places is cooperative, and we have actually assisted to close and get rid of animals from 17 farms and saved numerous more in close performance with our animal security partners in Korea and city government authorities, and by assisting farmers to shift to brand-new incomes that do not include the suffering and massacre of animals.
And we’re winning in the court of popular opinion, likewise. A 2022 survey by Nielsen discovered that 85% of Koreans have actually either never ever taken in dog meat or have no objective to do so in the future, while 56% would support a federal government restriction on the practice.
South Korea is not the only country where the fight to end the dog meat trade is unfolding, and we’re active dealing with our partners in others, consisting of Viet Nam, Indonesia and China, where an awful event including a “death truck” took place on Oct. 1 near Yulin. There, 370 of 1,408 pet dogs and felines packed into a lorry died. The stunning video of the scene is a searing tip of the fear, torment and anguish of the dog meat trade, and simply just how much more work lies ahead of us in our international project to end it.
That’s even more factor to bask in what’s playing out in the lives of the freshly gotten here pet dogs. The comfy setting of a rehab center is a far cry from the barren boundaries of a cage on a dog meat farm, however it’s still early in the procedure of their incredible change from forgotten casualties of a harsh trade to the recipients of the very best that the human-animal bond can produce. I’m fired up about our part in guaranteeing their course to security and joy. I hope you are too.
Classifications
Animal Rescue and Care, Humane Society International
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