Including quite expensive breeds like Chihuahua, Corgi, Husky, British Terrier, Pomeranian, Tibetan Lizard … have been kept in poor conditions.
About 200 dogs were rescued from a dog farm which the purpose of selling pets for slaughtering meat in Hongseong District, Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
This facility has been in operation for 8 years, breeding a variety of dogs of different ages, from birth to adulthood, and all of them keep them in a narrow, rusty cage.
Newborn dogs are locked in temporary cages made of wire mesh, rubber tires. The only source of light is from the flashing lights, many children do not have enough drinking water. Meanwhile, “butchers” were left out before local restaurateurs came to buy them.
In these dire conditions, many animals have ulcerative wounds, especially on the legs and nails, due to prolonged rubbing with the bottom of the cage. Many wounds have serious infections. These captive facilities are known to be very popular in Korea.
Especially with this installation in Hongseong, for many weeks, the International Humanitarian Society (HSI) has come to witness the horrible spectacle. Nara Kim, of the foundation, told the Daily Mail: “The line between being a pet or being killed by dogs in Korea is very fragile, it’s a terrible truth.”
Initially, the HSI fund persuaded the breeder – Mr. Lee Sang-gu – to move the cages in the canopy to avoid the cold and to place straws to make sure the dogs didn’t starve. In the end, they successfully negotiated with the breeder. As a result, the HSI Fund spent money to bring nearly 200 dogs to the United States and Canada for adoption, while Mr. Lee pledged not to trade in meat from dog for the next 20 years.
According to Lee, the deal was made while keeping the dog farm was not profitable. The reason may be that Koreans, especially young people, are consuming less and less dog meat.
Lee has always felt frustrated with opening a farm like this, but because he inherited it from his family and didn’t have much of a choice since he was young. For the past eight years, Lee has kept his business a secret because he was “ashamed”, and mostly because of the outcry from his wife and daughter – who love animals. In the future, he plans to become a security guard and take a short training course in computer science with the money received from the HSI fund.
Daily Mail
