An animal rights charity has shared shocking pictures of caged puppies in Korea as they urge people not take part in the tradition of eating the dog soup to cool them down during the hottest days of summer.
The charity, NoToDogMeat, says that some Koreans still maintain their tradition of eating boshintang, a Korean soup that includes dog meat as its primary ingredient.
The dogs used in the soup are typically found from dog farms, stray dogs or are people's own pets that end up being brutally tortured.
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NoToDogMeat is calling on all Koreans to boycott this practice and urge anyone taking part to think again.
Days of Bok (伏)/ Boknals, which mark the beginning, peak and the end of the dog-eating season according to the Chinese calendar, are traditionally in the summer when temperatures are at their hottest. This year the Boknals began on Sunday (19 July) and will end on 8 August.
NoToDogMeat CEO Julia de Cadenet said: "In previous years, our activists witnessed the horrors of Koreans feasting on dogs at the notorious Moran market.
"Dogs often with collars on staring out with pleading eyes and revellers selected them for slaughter. In 2012 we launched a UK Government petition to close this vile market, and in 2017 the mayor of Seoul ordered the dismantling of cages in this market and several others followed suit.
"For us, it signalled a true beginning of change as soon other markets started to close. Of course, dogs are still sold, and gruesome farms and abuse continue, but we saw progress."
Protests containing their distinctive NoToDogMeat banners were also featured in Australian filmmakers movie The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea.
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In the film we see rows of dogs in cages at a dog farm. An interviewer asks an employee if the dogs are being kept for pets. He replies: "All these dogs are for dog meat soup. They are all raised to be eaten."
Julia added: "Although Korea has not followed China's recent move to tentatively declare dogs and cats as companion animals (so no longer livestock), there are many bye-laws in place that activists on the ground and internationally push to be enforced.
"So why aren't these laws enforced? This is a question activists continue to raise to embassies and government officials, and right now in South Korea, there is a mass e-petition campaign."
NoToDogMeat are currently supporting, among others, Korean Charity Kara, which organised a drive through protest four days ago with an overwhelmingly positive response.
Julia said her charity will be showing their support by taking to the streets on 23 July (Thursday) at 2-5pm at the South Korean Embassy in London followed by a walk to House of Parliament before they break for summer recess.
To find out more about the work of NoToDogMeat, visit www.notodogmeat.com.
Featured Image Credit: Jam Press
