Olympic Venue Surrounded by Dog Meat Farms, Dog Soup on Menus Despite Protests

[Vicki]

The South Korean government offered restaurants serving dog-meat soup money to take it off the menu during the 2018 Olympic winter games taking place in Pyeongchang but most refused, according to media reports.

AFP News Agency reported last week:

South Koreans are believed to consume about one million dogs a year as a summertime delicacy, with the greasy red meat – which is invariably boiled for tenderness – believed to increase energy.

Activists have stepped up campaigns to ban dog consumption, with online petitions urging boycotts of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics over the issue, and protests in Seoul.

Local authorities asked the 12 dog meat restaurants in Pyeongchang county to stop serving the food during the games, in exchange for subsidies. But only two have complied, Pyeongchang County government official Lee Yong-bae told AFP.

“We’ve faced a lot of complaints from restaurant operators that we are threatening their livelihood,” the official said.

“Some of them initially shifted to selling pork or things instead of dog meat only to find their sales plunging sharply,” he said. “They then switched back to dog meat.”

The animal activists fighting the Korean dog meat trade include EK Park, who founded Free Korean Dogs.

Right now, Canadian figure skater Meagan Duhamel and partner Eric Radford are in first place in pair skating, and their Canadian skating team is also in first place.

But a year ago, while she and Radford were in South Korea for another competition, Park arranged for Duhamel to adopt Moo-tae, a dachshund mix that was rescued by Buddhist monks as a puppy from a farm in the southern part of the country.

Park, who was born in South Korea but now lives in Toronto, helped rescue 240 dogs last year, a process that includes volunteers who are willing to accompany the dogs on flights to “forever homes” in Canada and the United States.

The Associated Press reported:

The 2-year-old pup has been living with her and husband/coach Bruno Marcotte in Montreal since, spending his days doing yoga with Duhamel and making friends at the local dog park.

It’s been a different life for Moo-tae. Like roughly 2 million dogs each year, he was supposed to be raised on a Korean dog meat farm, where conditions are often poor. Moo-tae may have been locked in a cage, beaten or left without food or water. Certainly, he would have been sold and slaughtered, then probably served in soup at one of many restaurants still popular among Korea’s elderly population.

“He loved to sit with the Buddhas during meditation and yoga,” Duhamel said. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, maybe this dog has some special spiritual energy.’”

“That was really why I chose him,” Duhamel said.

http://www.breitbart.com/sports/201...t-farms-dog-soup-menus-even-athletes-protest/

 

[TWW]

Same issues where present that the 88 Seoul Olympics.

At that time the South Korean government promised the practice of eating dog meat was coming to a end in the country, and was on the verge of being outlawed.
Soon as the games ended and the spotlight came off it was soon forgotten, 30 years later and sadly I expect the same result.

Was in Seoul at the time so witnessed first hand the huge huff being made of it at the time of the games and the government there acting like it was a horrible dying tradition, soon as the game where over the government 180'ed and it was a time honored tradition and the rest of the world was arrogant for not honoring and respecting there way of life.

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Like all odious behaviours, Vote with your feet and pocketbooks to influence the younger generation to take a stand against the practice. Refute claims that dog meat gives older people energy...IT DOESN'T. Only younger Koreans who are better educated and well travelled can bring this message home.

So much depends on the under 30 group. They have to save the dogs, and when they're done that, they are going to save the world.

 

[marke]

they been eating dogs for thousands of years , personally the problem I got with it is the treatment and way they slaughter them , it is unbelievably cruel ....... hindus believe cows shouldn't be eaten , muslims pigs , should they push their beliefs on the west ? jews believe an an animal should be unimpaired when it's throat is cut (kosher slaughter) ...... Canada slaughters horses for meat ....... the ones they buy from the U.S . are horribly mistreated on their way to the Canadian slaughter houses ....... the export of live horses from Canada to Japanese slaughter houses is in excess of a 100million dollar industry , those horses are also treated horribly , and then die horrible deaths , maybe the world , or the 30 and under crowd , should impose American standards on all of them ?

 

[Boxergirl]

I 100% agree with Marke. He said exactly what I was going to say. There isn't nearly the outrage surrounding the keeping, slaughter, and consumption of cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens, or other animals that there is with dogs. The dogs are raised as meat animals, not as pets. I don't like it. It makes me feel sick. But all factory farming of animals makes me sick.

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Marke, I had no idea that there was a horse meat business being run out of Canada. I wonder why I have never heard this, there is such a passionate group of animal activists in Canada that I find it odd that this has flown under the radar. And I've never seen horse meat on sale here....not once. The only mention of it in the news that I remember was when IKEA was fined regarding some Swedish Meatballs they were carrying that had horse meat as an ingredient.

Nevertheless, cruelty must be stopped. I remember seeing a documentary about Temple Grandin who tried to ease the cruelty of animals bound for slaughter. She felt how they felt and did what she could to ease the situation. Being a meat eater, I want to know that the animals I consume were dealt with as compassionately as they can be. I know that it is a paradox, but it is the one that I live with as I will never go vegetarian...Nor will my dog.

Our unique relationships with horses and dogs should preclude them as meat sources. These animals bond with humans and they along with Whales, Dolphins, Elephants and Great Apes are set apart from other animals because of their intelligence, their human-like family devotion and their ability to communicate the depth of their feelings to us. They should never be on the menu!

***I've just had a look at the google search for horse meat in Canada, and, Yes, Marke is right, apparently it is a booming business both in pre-slaughtered meats and in live delivery. I'm deeply shocked and horrified. Shame on everyone involved in this vile practice. Oh, and, apparently, some chefs in Toronto are starting to hype it to the public. Disgusting! The sale isn't prohibited here, but I'm hoping it never catches on.