Korea - IAKA and KAPS

[Guest guest]

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Yoon Kerr [yoons_choi]

Saturday, January 22, 2005 8:55 AM

Update on Korean dogs and cats from IAKA and KAPS

 

Dear Friends,

 

Forwarded is the latest IAKA update on Korean dogs and cats.

 

The Korean government tried to legalise dog meat trade in the past and is

likely to do so again. Unfortunately the Korean government never seems to

understand how seriously the dog and cat meat trade damages Korea's

interests. The only way to stop them from continuously seeking ways of

legalising dog meat while doing nothing or as little as possible to clamp

down the trade is to deliver a coherent and strong message against the

inhumane trade from all sides.

 

 

 

With endangered wildlife, the Korean government passed a strong law against

not only those who kill the animals but also those who consume them. They

never attempted to defend the practice of eating parts of a tiger, a bear,

etc. as Korea's culture. This was possible because no animal group told the

Korean government to kill them humanely and then go on to consuming them.

Therefore, please remember and actively inform people that what the Korean

government need to hear is not 'please don't torture the animals while you

are killing them' but 'stop the dog and cat meat trade and expel the

groundless health myth'. Otherwise, the Korean government will never

permanently give up its intention of legalising dog meat.

 

 

 

Please give all your support if IAKA and KAPS decide to initiate another

major protest campaign, which will depend on the outcome of their talk with

the Korean government. In the meantime, continue to participate in IAKA and

KAPS' existing campaign.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/help.htm#government

 

 

 

Please also help Korean animals by correcting the misconceptions that

prolonged the misery of Korean dogs and cats. We cannot solve a problem

without tackling the cause. You can find many useful articles on the subject

from the below link. Please share them with as many people as possible.

 

http://www.friendsofdogs.net/articles.html

 

..

 

 

 

Thank you for your kindness to Korean animals.

 

 

 

 

 

Yoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

iakakaps [iaka]

19 January 2005 17:43

iaka

Update

 

Dear friends of Korean animals,

 

As you all know, we have been recently campaigning against the Korean

government's attempt to legalize dog and cat meat trade through the

definition of pet animals. Although we were rather disappointed that the

Korean government did not accept our proposed definition of companion

animals which would have established a solid legal basis for protecting all

dogs and cats as companion animals in the Animal Protection Law Amendment,

we were much relieved when KAPS was told that the Ministry of Agriculture

decided to drop the dangerous definition of pet animals. Unfortunately it

came to our notice that the Ministry of Agriculture is under pressure to

change its mind and may need to introduce a new definition of companion

animals as below.

 

'Companion animals are animals mainly raised for companionship and emotional

development, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture.'

 

This means that the Ministry of Agriculture will have the power to decide

what counts as companion animals. If the Ministry of Agriculture decide that

companion animals are registered dogs and cats and exclude dogs and cats

raised for human consumption from the object of the pet animal registration

scheme they are going to introduce, this will effectively justify the

distinction between pet dogs/cats and food dogs/cats in the eyes of law. We

are very concerned about this development and are talking to the Ministry of

Agriculture to adopt our proposed definition of companion animals if they

intend to introduce a definition of companion animals in the Amendment.

 

That the Korean government did not give up their intention of legalizing dog

and cat meat trade has been confirmed by the fact that the Ministry of

office for Government Policy Coordination held a meeting to discuss hygienic

control of the dog meat. Without tacit approval of dog meat, such a meeting

cannot take place. We cannot but suspect that the government officials were

trying to discuss a possibility of legalizing dog meat trade after making a

legal distinction between pet dogs and food dogs. The participants in the

meeting included the infamous Dr. Dogmeat (a well-known fanatical advocate

of dog meat) and a representative from dog meat trade, a clear sign that the

discussion was never intended for genuine hygiene or environmental concern

but was held to please dog meat traders.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture assured Sunnan that the legalization of dog meat

cannot happen at least for a while because there is no consensus for

legalizing dog meat among the general public in Korea and no government

department wants to take on such an unpopular and troublesome task. We

cannot however take comfort from their assurance if they keep trying to

legitimize the distinction between food dogs/cats and pet dogs/cats through

a definition of companion animals. We are waiting for a reply from the

Ministry of Agriculture over our concerns. We will start another major

protest campaign and inform all of you if we suspect that the Korean

government will legalize or take serious steps to legalize dog meat anytime

soon.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Sunnan and Kyenan Kum

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Aid for Korean Animals

Korea Animal Protection Society

P.O. Box 20600, Oakland, 94620-0600, USA

www.koreananimals.org

iaka

(Tel.) 510-271-6795

(Fax) 510-451-0643

 

 

 

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Friends of dogs

http://www.friendsofdogs.net

Dogs brighten our life with their gift of love. It is our turn to help our

dogs. Please help organisations who are fighting to get dogs out of the food

chain.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://www.linisgobyerno.org/special_projects.htm

 

 

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