**URGENT** Korean Dogs and Cats Need Your Help! **URGENT**

[Guest guest]

Sunnan Kum and dogs at shelter

<http://www.koreananimals.org/images/sun_home.jpg>

http://www.koreananimals.org

PICTURES: http://www.koreananimals.org/mm_photos.htm

 

<http://www.koreananimals.org/images/mm2.jpg>

 

**URGENT** IAKA/KAPS EMAIL UPDATE ____________________

DECEMBER 31, 2003

 

 

 

1. Send protest letters to the Korean government before they legalize

dog-meat!

 

2. Sample letter to Korean President

 

3. The letter from the Olympic Committee

 

 

 

 

 

For the past year, KAPS/IAKA and animal friends from around world have

been lobbying the Korean government to not adopt a draft law which would

recognize two classes of animal – pets and livestock. Dogs and cats

would not be excepted from their definition and would therefore be

“raised” as livestock for human consumption. KAPS has argued that dogs

and cats need to be a special category, recognizing their longstanding

role as companion animals, that could not be raised as livestock.

Nevertheless, the Korean government appears to be determined to adopt

the new law and has set in motion a process that could result in it

being approves by the Korean National Assembly in July 2004.

 

 

 

This, of course, is terrible news. If this law passes as planned, only

dogs and cats raised explicitly as pets will be protected. Not only

does this mean that dogs and cats raised for human consumption will have

no protection from abuse whatsoever but it also allows for any dog

abuser to get away with torturing these animals, legally, just as long

as he claims the animal is not a pet.

 

 

 

We are asking you to send as many protest letters as possible to Korean

President and the Ministry of Agriculture. This matter is most urgent,

as the Korean government has already set up a time-line for the

introduction of this new law: the law will be drafted and then sent to

Korean Animal related organizations for review in February 2004, before

being passed on to National Assembly. Please write protest letters in

both email and regular mail and encourage others to do so, too.

(President Roh Moo-Hyun does not have an email address. If you try

emailing the Minister of Agriculture and the message does not go

through, please consider sending a letter through the mail instead. AN

..80¢ STAMP IS REQUIRED FOR LETTERS MAILED FROM THE U.S. TO KOREA.)

 

 

 

Animal Protection Law amendment schedule

 

* Consult related organizations and draw up Amendment: February, 2004

* Consult related departments and notify the public legislation in

advance: March to

 

April, 2004

* Amendment examination by Regulation Inspection Committee: May to June,

2004

* Parliament submission: July, 2004

* Legislation: August to December, 2004

* Enforcement: January, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

Send protest letters to:

 

 

 

President Roh Moo-Hyun

 

Blue House

 

1 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu

 

Seoul

 

South Korea, 110-050

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minister Huh Sang-man

 

The Ministry of Agriculture

 

1 Jungang-dong, Gwacheon

 

Gyeonggi Prov.

 

South Korea, 427-760

 

-or-

 

<http://www.wmaster (AT) maf (DOT) go.kr/> www.wmaster@...

 

 

 

 

 

Sample letter to President Roh, Moo-Hyun:

 

 

 

 

 

Dear President Roh, Moo-Hyun,

 

 

 

I am appalled to learn the Korean Government is currently drafting an

amendment to the Animal Protection Law of 1991, making a distinction

between certain breeds of dogs as meat-producing livestock animals and

other breeds as pets. In the draft law, the definition of pet animal is

an attempt to give legitimacy to dog and cat meat. The dogs and cats

are protected only if people raised them purposely as pet animal. This

means that any dog or cat purposely raised for food will not be

protected. Not only does this deprive protection to animals who are

raised for food or medicine but will also result in a situation where

the law cannot punish any animal abuser who claims that their dog or cat

was raised for any purposes other than pets. In 1991 your own

government acknowledged that all dogs, not just certain breeds, were

entitled to protection from cruelty, mistreatment, and abuse. Any

amendment leaving dogs and cats purposely bred for food or medicine

without protection would be a grave injustice and a major setback for

the animal protection efforts in Korea.

 

 

 

If this new law passes, it would make Korea the first and only country

in the entire world to explicitly legitimize dog meat, legally

sanctioning dog and cat killing for human consumption. This would bring

a great mark of shame to your country, especially when the overwhelming

majority of the rest of the world has banned dog-meat, including Taiwan,

Thailand and the Philippines. In fact, Taiwan has recently strengthened

their law to ban the killing and selling dogs as food. Almost every

other country in the world, especially those as developed as Korea, is

moving forward with animal protection laws. Why do you want to

embarrass your country and let it be known as the only country taking a

step backwards?

 

 

 

Our boycott of Korea’s bid for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games was

successful. After choosing Vancouver, Canada, as the host city, the

International Olympic Committee sent letters to International Aid for

Korean Animals and The Korea Animal Protection Society asking them and

their supporters to stop bombarding their offices with protest cards. I

promise that if the proposed amendment to the Animal Protection Law of

1991 passes, we will do everything in our power to se that Korea will

loose all of its bids to host any major event, including all

international sporting events and World Expositions. I, and my many

animal loving friends from around world, will send protest letter after

protest letter informing the organizers of such events as to the horrors

that take place inside Korea, letting them know that they should

reconsider before choosing Korea as a host city.

 

 

 

All Dog and Cat are companion pet animals and should not be raised for

human consumption.

 

 

 

The following is the letter to IAKA/KAPS from the Olympic committee:

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

 

 

The International Olympic Committee regularly receives postcards and

letters from web users, inspired by your website

<http://www.koreananimals.org/> www.koreananimals.org, asking us not to

award the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to the city of Pyeong-Chang, South

Korea.

 

 

 

We would like to inform you that, on 2 July 2003 in Prague, the IOC

Session elected the city of Vancouver, Canada, as the host city for the

XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010.

 

 

 

We thank you for taking due note of this information.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

The International Olympic Committee

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Please send letters of protests.

Thank you.