Fwd: Please write a letter to the editor about Korean Dog consumption

[Guest guest]

> Dear Animal Friend,

>

> The Chosun Ilbo printed an article about a man seeking legal action after

> his Jindo (purebred dog common in Korea) was stolen and eaten. You can read

the

> article online here:

> http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/200409160027.html. Please

write a letter to the editor stating that all dogs—not

> just purebreds deserve legal protection and not for their monetary value,

> but because they all suffer and want to live. Write to:

englishnews.

>

>

>

>

> Thieves to Pay Big for Eating Pedigree Dog

>

> September 16, 2004

>

>

>

> Chosun Ilbo

>

>

> Three men who ate someone else's Jindo dog behind his back have found

> themselves in a situation where they must pay the owner several tens of

millions of

> won. 62-year-old Mr. Lee, a rental car company executive in Jeonnong-dong,

> Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, screamed when he discovered that his Jindo dog " Chanmi, "

> which had been tied up in his company's parking lot, had disappeared Sunday

> afternoon, leaving only bloodstains behind.

>

>

>

> The prized, purebred Jindo bitch was left in the parking lot in order to

> breed, but the dog disappeared without a trace, and bloodstains and a metal

> pipe were discovered. He then remembered a phone call he received from Mr.

Kim,

> a parking lot attendant, in which Kim extended an invitation to have dog

> meat. Lee called the police. Learning what Kim had done through the following

> police investigation, Lee would be shocked once again.

>

> Kim and two other employees had beaten the dog to death with a metal pipe,

> put it in their car and went to a nearby river valley where they boiled up

> some Korean dog meat soup (boshintang in Korean), which they ate together.

They

> even put the leftover meat in a large refrigerator at an eatery nearby the

> rental car company for safekeeping. They knew the dog they were eating was a

> Jindo dog, but they didn't know that this was a proud purebred with a

pedigree.

>

>

>

>

> Lee, the owner of the dog, complained, " Chanmi was a superior Jindo dog

> with pure blood that stretched back five generations. On the investigation

> report, it was written that the dog was worth about W10 million, but the Korea

> Jindo Dog Association said the dog was worth several tens of millions of won. "

> Korea Jindo Dog Association president Lee Cheol-yong said, " As the dog was two

> years old and was worth the most not only because of its blood lines, but

> because it was female and could have lots of puppies, it was worth more than

> W70~80 million. "

>

>

>

> Seoul's Cheongnyang-ni Police Station applied for an arrest warrant for the

> three on charges of larceny Monday, but the application was rejected and they

> were released in a day. Lee, the owner of the dog, said, " Even if it's just

> to sound the alarm against a social reality that doesn't seem to value

> purebred Jindo dogs, I will launch a lawsuit and get back what my dog was

worth. "

>

>

>

> You can use the following points in your letter:

>

>

>

>

> Two million South Korean dogs are electrocuted, strangled, or bludgeoned to

> death each year. They are killed in the cruelest ways imaginable, because

> many Koreans believe the adrenaline that rushes through the system will

improve

> virility—something that has never been scientifically proven.

>

>

> The practice of eating dogs is not widely accepted in Korea. It gained

> popularity after the Korean War due to widespread starvation. The practice

> continues to thrive with the aid of greedy restaurateurs, meat dealers, and

> butchers.

>

>

> Dogs are well-loved animals in Korea and many people keep dogs as

> companions. The small contingent of people who blithely ignore the law and

continue to

> abuse these innocent beings to make money must be stopped.

>

>

> It is unacceptable that dogs and cats should be kept in filthy crates,

> forced to watch one another be bludgeoned to death. It is illegal in Korea and

it

> is the Korean government’s responsibility to ensure that anyone who breaks

> its laws be strictly punished.

>

>

> Eyewitnesses have reported dogs being torn apart while still alive, their

> tormentors saying that the more prolonged the torment of death, the better the

> taste. This attitude toward any living being is at best deplorable.

>

> Don’t forget to include your full name, address, and phone number (for

> verification purposes—street names and phone numbers will not be published).

> Letters should be less than 300 words. Thank you for writing.

>

>

>

> Sincerely,

>

> Kristie Phelps

> Program Coordinator

>

>

>