Dog beaten to death! Please write a letter to the editor about Korean Dog consumption

[Guest guest]

The link to the The Chosun Ilbo article isn't working. They must have removed

the article entirely, because I couldn't find it anywhere on their site. Even

more reason to write to this newspaper!

 

The article should still be at the following site:

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200409/16/200409162257351809900090409041.html

 

Check it out quick before it disappears!

 

Contact info. for The JoongAng Daily is at:

 

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/contact_us.html

 

 

PV1mail@c...

Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:18 pm

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

 

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 (chosun.com)

 

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

virilityâ? " 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