Canine Cuisine: A Custom Or A Crime? by Brenda Shoss To subscribe to Kinship Circle Letters for Animals, email: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org Last December, Hope stood outside the Korean Embassy in London to protest President Kim Dae Jung's U.K. tour. Amid cries of "Shame, Shame, Shame!" Hope volunteered a few auspicious bow-wows. The rescued four-legger joined her human guardians to object to the Korean dog-meat industry that almost claimed her life. In January dog meat connoisseurs unleashed Doctor Dogmeat to offset skeptics and plug mutt meals in time for the 2002 World Cup soccer finals in South Korea from May 31 to June 30. The academic mascot, Chungchong University professor Ahn Yong-keun, disclosed plans for promotional websites and new restaurants to entertain tourists near World Cup stadiums. Puppies for dinner? To Americans, the desecration of humankind's best friend is repugnant. "This is a matter of cultural difference," restaurateur Na Hyun-woo told The Korea Herald. "Westerners have eating practices that we cannot understand...They eat horse intestines and pluck out lambs' eyes and regard them as delicacies." Okay, hit us with our own hypocrisy. But the clash between those who champion canine cuisine and those who don't has escalated, with demonstrations outside Korean embassies in New York City, London, Australia and Argentina. Among the naysayers are sisters Sunnan and Kyenan Kum, co-founders of the International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA) and the Korea Animal Protection Society (KAPS) shelter in Taegu, South Korea. IAKA claims the so-called "Korean cultural tradition" is a myth invented to promote a lucrative trade that annually slaughters over 2 million dogs and cats. "It comes as no surprise that my sister and I, both native Koreans, are never mentioned as the leaders in the fight against the illegal meat trade," Kyenan says. "How can Korea's dog meat advocates cry racism, or Œlack of cultural understanding' if Koreans themselves are leading the opposition?" Koreans are a mixed bag of opinion. In 1984 the Ministry of Health and Welfare dubbed dog meat a "disgusting food" and outlawed it for human ingestion. The Korean Animal Protection Act of 1991 grants dogs and cats immunity from select livestock such as cows, pigs and chickens. But the vague laws don't prohibit Illicit dog farms. They don't ban violent slaughter methods believed to enrich meat flavor and stimulate virility in those who eat it. They don't regulate the dealers and herbal medicine practitioners who routinely pump steroids, testosterone and other hormones into dog soups and tonics. Several years ago a Korean television station aired a report about a typical market. The footage reveals malnourished mongrels and pedigreed pooches--some stolen and still wearing collars--staring from fly-infested cages under the sweltering sun. A few wag tails pitiably as human hands reach in to beat them. In a bizarre effort to "tenderize" flesh and expel adrenaline thought to increase the meat's aphrodisiacal qualities, workers provoke as much terror as possible. Bloody water trickles past diners as they shop for the dog destined to become their meal. "How much does this dog weigh?" a customer asks. "About 27-28kun. (36-37 pounds)," the dealer responds. When the sale is finalized, the dog is roped and dragged from the cage. One worker grips him while another bludgeons his head with a metal bar. An electric rod finishes the slaughter. Other dogs, electrocuted immediately, shriek before their bodies stiffen. The animals are then submerged in tanks equipped with boiling water and whirlpools to strip away fur. Blowtorches are applied to brown their skin. In some cases, dogs regain consciousness during processing. In July and August, Korea's "dog days," dealers sell nearly 1,000 dogs a day. Cats do not fare much better. In an ITN news story, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that strays and former pets are boiled alive in pressure cookers to liquefy their bodies into the "cat juice" believed to heal rheumatism and other ailments. Is tradition an excuse to torture animals bred to trust and love people? Poshintang (dog soup) is marketed as age-old therapy for impotency, summer heat, and even skin rejuvenation. Representative Kim Hong-shin of the Grand National Party, Sukchan Song of the Democratic Party, and Korea's pro-dog meat lobby argue that outsiders have no right to malign their culinary practices. Yet many other cultural customs--human slavery, lynching, cannibalism, foot-binding--are deemed too barbaric for modern civilization. Dog-meat fans contend that animals experience no emotion. But they don't represent the majority of Koreans. Kim, a 32-year-old housewife, told a Korean newspaper that she accepts the argument that dog consumption is no different than cow or chicken consumption. "But I want to stress dogs' emotional closeness to humans throughout history," she says. "We have to draw the line somewhere, don't we?" WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1.) Ask the following KOREAN OFFICIALS to institute new, enforceable laws to prohibit dogs and cats from torture and consumption. President Kim, Dae-Jung Blue House 1 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu Seoul, South Korea 110-050 email: Webmaster@cwd.go.kr Prime Minister Lee, Han-Dong 77-6 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu Seoul, South Korea 110-050 email: m_opm@opm.go.kr Ask Prime Minister Lee, Han-Dong to institute a new law to protect and prohibit dogs and cats from being butchered, eaten or used for medicinal purposes. Representative Ham, Suk-Jae Chairman of The Standing Committee of the Agriculture, Forestry, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries National Assembly 1 Yoido-dong, Youngdungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea 150-702 ph: 02-788-2960 Fax : 02-788-3361 email: afec@assembly.go.kr Ask Representative Ham, Suk-Jae to reject the new bill that seeks to include dogs in livestock production and sanitation laws, introduced by Representative Kim, Hong-Shin. Minister Choi, Sun-Jung The Ministry of Health and Welfare 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 email: wmastermohw.go.kr Ask Minister Choi, Sun-Jung to enforce the 1984 law introduced to ban the consumption of dog soup. Minister Kim, Dong-Tae The Ministry of Agriculture 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 email: minister@maf.go.kr Ask Minister Kim, Dong-Tae to introduce and enforce a new law to ban killing dogs and cats. Minister Kim, Myung-Ja The Ministry of Environment 1 Joongang-dong Kwanchun City, Kyoungki-do South Korea 427-760 email: minister@me.go.kr Ask Minister Kim, Myung-Ja to foster animal welfare education and to support humane treatment of feral and stray cats. Mr. Yang, Kyu-Hwan Director Korean Food and Drug Administration 5 Nokbun-dong, Unpyoung-gu Seoul, South Korea 122-704 email: kh1yang@kfda.go.kr Ask Mr. Yang, Kyu-Hwan to enforce the 1984 Food Sanitation Law that outlaws dog meat. Governor Yu, Kun-Man, Governor of Jeju Province 312-1, Yeon-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 690-700 ph: 82-64-710-2362, email: wookm@provin.jeju.kr Ask Governor Yu, Kun-Man to cancel the building permit for a dog farm in Jeju Island Province. Embassy of the Republic of Korea 2370 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20008, United States ph: 202-939-6463 · fax: 202-387-0402 Korean Cultural Service 460 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 ph: 212-759-9550 Ambassador Ra Jong-yil Embassy of the Republic of Korea 60 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AJ United Kingdom ph: 44 (0) 20 7227-5500 fax: 44 (0) 20 7227-5503 2.) Contact the president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan (KOWOC), as well as the World Cup 2002 sponsors, and politely encourage them to ask the South Korean government to install laws that ban dog/cat farming and consumption. Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 World Cup Park Seh-Jik, Chair KOWOC Leema Bldg. 146-1 Susong-Dong Chongro-ku Seoul, South Korea Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA President FIFA House P.O. 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