Fwd: ITD Update 16/07/09

[Guest guest]

"It's Their

Destiny"

 

News items on Asian animal

abuse

July

16, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Koreans Protest Dog

Eating

 

Dear

Friends,

We are pleased to

be able to forward on the following report from the Korea

Times, perhaps a sign that there is hope for the future. Our

congratulations to our Korean colleagues who have campaigned

for so long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concert Consoles Puppies on

Dog

Day

 

 

 

By

Park Si-soo

Staff Reporter

 

For human beings, summer

is a thrilling season. Millions of Koreans escape from the

hustle-and-bustle of daily life to enjoy their freedom under

the blazing sunshine.

 

For dogs, however, it must be an

appalling period as tens of thousands of chubby dogs are

slaughtered for use in an energy-boosting meal.

 

Any

sense of guilty?

 

An inaugural concert for puppies and

dogs was held in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday.

 

 

It marks ``Chobok'' ― the first of the so-called dog

days in July-August when dog meat soup called ``boshintang''

is consumed nationwide as a traditional health food for

summer.

 

The concert symbolizes the changing lifestyle

of Koreans, with more and more men refraining from eating dog

meat these days out of concerns at the content of boshintang.

 

Due to a lack of supply, boshintang sometimes contains

other animal meat, including rabbit and cat. Sometimes ill and

stray dogs are used for boshintang.

 

On the other hand,

many young Koreans love to live with puppies and dogs as pets,

and this new generation has grown up without eating dog

soup.

 

A Seoul-based 64-member symphony orchestra and

popular K-pop singers went to Cheongdo, 320 kilometers south

of Seoul, to play in the unprecedented event, hosted by famous

comedian Jeon Yoo-sung. Cheongdo ward office was the sponsor.

 

 

The 60-year-old comedian, now retired, is well known

for his eccentric and norm-breaking repetoire.

 

``Dogs

have sacrificed themselves a lot for humans. But we have done

nothing for them. That's the reason for the event,'' Jeon

said. ``I hope this event will help refresh their minds during

the stressful season.''

 

Raising the curtain at 8 p.m.

with the ``Light Cavalry Overture'' composed by Suppe, the

orchestra played a variety of classical and contemporary music

pieces, whose themes either originated from dogs or were

helpful in consoling their ``sacrifice.''

 

The concert

went on for about two hours under torrential rain.

 

To

enter the venue, small dogs were required to wear a name tag,

while wearing a muzzle was necessary for larger dogs, the

office said.

 

``Among the music played were marching

songs such as `Pomp and Circumstance' composed by Elgar, and

others by Beethoven. This is to keep participating dogs from

being disheartened so much during the season,'' Jeon said. ``I

am considering making it an annual event.''

14/07/09

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/07/117_48448.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

On

another note, most of us have at some time or another felt the

pain of the passing of a pet dog or cat. Our friends at Sirius

GAO (http://sirius.2kat.net) have now opened a forum at http://sirius.forumotion.com - anyone is welcome to leave a comment,

memorials, or just share

thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Our continued thanks for your support

and for caring enough to want to make a

difference.

 

From all the team at

ITD

 

 

If not

through another list, you will have received this email

because you either have helped with a campaign or requested to

receive these emails in the past. We have no wish to send

"spam", so if you do not want to hear from us in the future,

just send a blank email to itd with subject line

"Un". Our updates are meant to be viewed in html - if you

receive in simple text through another list and would like to

receive in the original format, please email itd with subject line

"Subscribe".

 

 

 

http://itstheirdestiny.2kat.net