WASHINGTON — A total of 27 dogs taken by Humane Society International from a meat farm in South Korea are now in Washington, D.C. in search of their fur-ever homes. Officials say the dogs were set to be killed for their meat as part of an industry that breeds and slaughters up to one million dogs a year for human consumption.
Raspberry, Trudy, Nana, Bruno, Zelda, Roxy, Max, Mia, and other dogs from the former farm are being evaluated at the Humane Society's Care and Rehabilitation Center in the D.C. area.
The rescued pups range in age from 10 months to 3 years old.
Officials say the dogs were saved as part of a 200-rescue when Humane Society International worked with a farmer who wanted to leave dog farming behind him and convert his land into a self-sufficient crop field growing cabbages and other vegetables.
Sangkyung Lee, Humane Society International/Korea’s End Dog Meat campaign manager, helped rescue the dogs and said:
“The dog meat farm where these 27 pups came from was a hellish scene. Some 200 dogs were locked in barren, metal cages in squalid conditions thick with feces, many suffering from malnutrition as well as painful skin and eye diseases. Thankfully, most of these 27 dogs were too young to remember the trauma of the farm, and it makes me so happy to know that they will soon be embraced with new names and cherished as loved family members. It’s one month since the South Korean government pledged to ban the dog meat industry, so each one of these dogs symbolizes a day that we have waited for political action. We need to get this ban done so that no more dogs have to suffer for a meat that virtually no one wants to eat.”
The HSI Animal Rescue Team rescues dogs in South Korea
Since 2015, HSI’s Models for Change program has helped dog farmers in South Korea transition to new, more humane livelihoods such as chili plant and parsley growing or water truck delivery. Humane Society International has permanently closed 18 dog meat farms so far and rescued more than 2,700 dogs who have flown to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to find homes, with a small number rehomed in South Korea.
This rescue comes a month after the South Korean government announced a bill to ban the dog meat industry.
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