Dear Mayor DariaNardella and the City Council members:
We respectfully submit that Florence should not be a sister/friendship city to any city in South Korea that allows dogs and cats to be brutally and purposefully tortured and eaten. As South Korea refuses to acknowledge and end this proven abuse, we must go to the outside worldand ask your fair city to please urge Jeonju Mayor Seung-Su Kim to close down all involved in the technically illegal, corrupt and sordid industry, which includes dog farms, slaughterhouses, butchers, markets, truckers and restaurants that serve dog/cat meat.
WE ASK YOU - WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE IS SOUTH KOREA SENDING TO CHILDREN?
Social media, in its many forms, is alive with horrifying images of South Korean inhumanity and unwillingness to promote itself as a progressive, modern, evolved society that is compassionate toward companion animals. The public outcry continues to grow over the violence witnessed by young children, every day, in public, and in broad daylight. And every day, the shocking and heartbreaking images/videos of innocent dogs and cats being tortured are spreading, like wildfire, across the globe via viral media outlets. These victims are sentient beings, non-human animals that are known to be capable of wide-ranging cognitive, emotional and moral capacities, all documented by renowned scientists and medical professionals. Knowing that many of these dogs and cats have previously been people’s pets, and have been stolen, is particularly horrifying.
Even though South Korea has established an Animal Protection Law for companion animals, 2.5 MILLION YEARLYare still beaten, hung, electrocuted, and treated brutally by farmers and slaughterers. They are still boiled alive for so-called elixirs, which do not have any medical properties except in the minds of ignorant and gullible customers. Many South Koreans believe the insidious myth and “cultural tradition” that the more an animal suffers, the tastier the meat, the more the medical properties will be enhanced, and the more the male virility is increased. It makes one wonder…have we not gone back to unenlightened and uneducated times, when people also believed the world was flat? A country cannot hide behind “culture” in order to justify torture and suffering. Would we ever think to justify the horrible stains on our collective past history, such as The Holocaust, Slavery, Religious Persecution, etc. under a “cultural” umbrella?
These practices have no place in the modern world. In fact, countries should be very concerned about the threats to human health. Practices such as this are responsible for spreading diseases through unsanitary conditions of farms, slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants. Dogs killed for meat are routinely given antibiotics and steroids in an attempt to ward off disease – this of course is passed on to humans and poses toxic health dangers, the least of which is food poisoning. In addition, environmental problems such as contamination from releasing wastewater, mosquito infestations, pollution, etc. are growing exponentially. To also know that approximately 30% of the dogs eaten in South Korea are dubiously sourced from China is very disturbing.
Other Asian countries have banned the eating of dog meat and the cruel industry that goes with it, such as Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. In South Korea, many other sister city campaigns have been successful in initiating constructive dialogue to work toward ending the dog meat trade, such as Bologna Italy/Seongnam SK, Bakersfield CA/Bucheon SK, Brea CA/Anseong SK and Glendale CA/Gimpo SK.
We are hereby letting the global community know that we are organizing and calling for an ALL-OUT 2016 VIRAL CAMPAIGN to:
- Boycott the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games, hosted in Pyeongchang
- Boycott all Korean companies, automotive dealerships, technology retailers, etc.(Hyundai/Kia, Samsung, LG, Daewoo, SK, POSCO, etc.)
- Boycott the Korea Tourism Organization and all other Korean organizations that promote South Korea as a friendly and kind nation
- Boycott Korean products sold to consumers
- Lobby Global governments for their involvementand capacity to sanction
Won’t South Korea’s economy, ability to attract tourists and reputation in the international community have more to gain by eliminating its association with torture and cruelty rather than not? Isn’t it more beneficial to South Korea to not risk further and more widespread shame and embarrassment?
South Korea wishes to be known as “a country that attracts and ignites the interest of the world.” In ending the dog/cat meat trade, they will be successful in that endeavor, and they will have gained the respect and patronage of millions of people around the world. It would behoove the South Korean government to seriously ponder the public relations benefits and positive publicity that could be gained by coming out on the right side of this inflammatory issue. Imagine the flood of POSITIVE images and PRAISE for South Korea should those in power see their way to end this massacre.
It is time to get on board with New Zealand, France, Quebec and most recently the Oregon Supreme Court, who just issued a landmark ruling: a dog is akin to a human child. In so doing, the court granted legal significance to the dog’s “sentience”—his capacity to experience feelings, and most importantly, pain. We need to do this for ourselves, and for our children’s futures.
(PLEASE CLICK LINK BELOW FOR UNDERCOVER VIDEO):
Thank you for your consideration. The favor of your reply is requested.
Sincerely,
(name & address)
CC list:
Superintendent GwonEung Hwan, BusanBukbu Office of Education
Jong-Deok Kim, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Han-Gil Kim, Democratic Party Leader
Moo-Sung Kim,Saenuri Party Leader
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Headquarter
Minister Woo-Yea Hwang, Ministry of Education
Minister Hyungpyo Moon, Ministry of Health and Welfare
Samsung Group, CEO Kun-Hee Lee
Samsung Electronics Co., CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon
Samsung electronics North America, President/CEO Gregory Lee
SK Holdings, CEO Tae-won Chey
Hyundai Motor Company, CEO Mong-Koo Chung
POSCO, CEO Joon-Yang Chung
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., CEO Jai-Seong Lee
LG Electronics Inc., CEO Bon-Joon Koo
Samsung Life Insurance, CEO Keun-Hee Park
LG Display Co., Ltd., CEO Sang-Beom Han
Korea Electric Power Corporation, CEO Hwan-Eik Cho
GS Caltrex Corporation, CEO Jin-Soo Huh
Kia Motors Corporation, CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee
Korea Gas Corporation, CEO KangsooChoo
S-Oil, CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher
Hyundai Mobis, CEO Jun Ho-Suck
JongmukSunim, Haeinsa Buddhist Priesthood College
JinhwaSunim , Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, Temple Stay Information Center
Mark Lippert, US Ambassador to South Korea
Geun-Hye Park, President of South Korea
Jae-In Moon, Leader of Democratic Party (Opposition Party) of South Korea
Ki-Moon Ban (South Korean National), Secretary General of the United Nations
Joon Oh (South Korean National), President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council(UN ECOSOC)
Cheol-SooAhn, Co-Founder of the People’s Party of Korea
Moo-Sung Kim, Leader of the Saenuri Party of South Korea
Jong-In Kim, Leader of the Minjoo Party of Korea
Ui-Hwa Chung, Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea
Kyo-Ahn Hwang, Prime Minister of South Korea
Kyung-Hwan Cho, iDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance
Byung-Se Yun, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Dong-Phil Lee, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Seung Chung, Minister of Korea Food And Drug Safety
Chin-Youb Chung, Minister of Health & Welfare
Seong-Kyu Yun, Minister of Environment
Hyun-Woong Kim, Minister of Justice
Jung-Haeng Kim, President of Korean Olympic Committee
Hee-Beom Lee, President & CEO of The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games
Hyung-Koo Yeo, Secretary General of The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games
Won-Sop Shin, Minister of Korea Forest Service
Young-Guk Park, Director of Korean Culture and Information Service, Assistant Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Chang-SooJeong, CEO of Korea Tourism Organization
Jeong-Boo Je, Minister of Government Legislation
Woo-Yea Hwang, Minister of Education
Yang-Hee Choi, Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning
Hyung-Hwan Joo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy
Jong-Sup Chong, Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs
Eun-Hee Kang, Minister of Gender Equality and Family
Min-Koo Han, Minister of National Defense
Kihl-Jae Ryoo, Minister of Unification
Ki-Kweon Lee, Minister of Employment and Labor
Ho-In Kang, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Ki-June Yoo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries
Geun-Myeon Lee, Minister of Personnel Management
Sam-Yeol (Samuel) Koo, Chairperson of Presidential Council on Nation Branding
Won-Soon Park, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Young-Ho Oh, President of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)
In-Ho Kim, Chairman & CEO of Korea International Trade Association
Soo-Nam Kim, Prosecutor General of Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office
Sin-Myeong Kang, Commissioner General of Korean National Police Agency
Sun-HwaRha, Administrator of Cultural Heritage Administration
Hee-Ryong Won, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Kyung-Pil Nam, Governor of Gyeonggido Province
Jae-Myung Lee, Mayor of Seongnam (largest dog market in the country, Moran Market)
Jeong-Bok Yoo, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City
Jun-Pyo Hong, Governor of Gyeongsangnamdo Province (BusanGupo Dog Meat Market)
Byung-SooSuh, Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City(Gupo Dog Meat Market)
Gi-Hyeon Kim, Mayor of Ulsan Metropolitan City
Kwan-Yong Kim, Governor of Gyeongsangbukdo Province (DaeguChilseong Dog Meat Market)
Young-Jin Kwon, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City(Chilseong Dog Meat Market)
Hee-Jung An, Governor of Chungcheongnamdo Province
Sun-Taik Kwon, Mayor of Daejeon Metropolitan City
Si-Jong Lee, Governor of Chungcheongbukdo Province
Nak-YoLee, Governor of Jeollanamdo Province
Jang-Hyun Yoon, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City
Ha-Jin Song, Governor of Jeollabukdo Province
Moon-Soon Choi, Governor of Gangwondo Province
Jae-Kook Sim, Mayor of Pyeongchang (Home of Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics)
Ho-Young Ahn, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States of America
Dae-shik Jo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Canada
Sung-Nam Lim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom
Bong-Hyun Kim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Australia
The International Olympic Committee
Association of National Olympic Committee, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad AL-SABAH : President,
GunillaLINDBERG : Secretary General
The National Olympic Committee Members
The Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations
The International Summer Olympic Sports Organizations