These dogs were about to be 'brutally killed by electrocution' and eaten for a festival

People reports that animal welfare groups successfully rescued 21 dogs bred to be eaten from an illegal farm in South Korea. The pets were all Jindo crosses, a breed typically used for its meat in the region.

‘Brutally killed by electrocution’

The farmer had been keeping canines for human consumption at the site for six years. They were living in horrendous conditions and were at risk of ending up on someone’s festive table if not removed before the deadline.

Sangkyung Lee, HSI/Korea's dog meat campaign manager, said:

This dog farm is typical of so many across South Korea where thousands of dogs are languishing in filthy, deprived conditions, enduring the unimaginable frustration of being confined in tiny cages their whole lives until they are brutally killed by electrocution.

According to Humane Society International (HSI), an animal welfare charity that rescued the dogs in collaboration with Korean K9 Rescue Government officials, they have already saved and rehomed 38 dogs from this farm earlier.

The 21 remaining pets had a 'deadline for removal' - the start of the BokNal festival, a tradition that marks the three hottest days of summer. During the celebration, many canines at Korean dog meat farms are sold and killed for a dog meat soup, known as 'bosintang'. The dish is believed to 'build stamina' and help cool the consumer down amid hot temperatures.

If not rescued before the festival, the pups would be euthanised or sold to a slaughterhouse. Luckily, HSI's mission was successful. The dogs Romeo, Henry, Tori, Juliette, Brown Bear, Christian, and all the others 'got their happy ending'. They will receive all the care they need before flying to North America to seek adoptive homes later this year.

Do Koreans really like eating dogs?

BBC reported last year that despite the country’s reputation as a dog-eating nation, most Koreans have never tasted the 'delicacy'. Thanks to the active campaigning by the animal welfare groups such as HSI, the demand for it has dwindled.

Almost 60% of the population supports a legislative ban on dog farming. President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee of South Korea, who own four dogs, including Tori, a rescued Jindo, actively back it too.

But it is estimated that up to one million dogs are still killed to be eaten every year in the country. Sadly, animals fall victim to old traditions and beliefs, especially by older generations.

What about the rest of Asia?

Despite the growing bans across Asia, an estimated 30 million dogs are still killed for meat in the region yearly. Their meat consumption is banned in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, India, Thailand, and Singapore, the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai in mainland China, the Siem Reap province in Cambodia, and 17 cities and regencies across Indonesia. The degrees of enforcement vary.

Read more:

⋙ These giant pet rabbits that were 'bred to be eaten' were found in dreadful conditions

⋙ Tiny 'skeleton' dog on the edge of death rescued from a 'house of horrors'

⋙ Animal inspector’s heartbreak as she finds a dying dog locked up in a filthy house