Illegal dog slaughtering in Goyang-city, South Korea busted

[Giny Woo]

This is translation of Korean News:
http://news.donga.com/3/all/20120710/47648257/1
Read the news on koreandogs.org : http://koreandogs.org/?p=1760
Sign the petitions: http://koreandogs.org/?page_id=1512

Dogs on the ground with fur removed…boiled in a pot immediately after slaughter

There were already 3 dogs with their fur removed on the ground. A
white dog that while waiting for his turn witnessed the slaughter of
other dogs is terrified that not only he isn’t barking but he can’t
even look me, the stranger reporter, in the eye. Electrocution device
hanging on the wall, the water injection hose and round hair removal
machine is frightening enough to make anyone shudder.

July 9, 2012. This is the scene of a work area at an illegal dog
slaughterhouse located at a hillside of Goyang-city, Ilsandonggu
seongseokdong Gyeonggido-province. Filled with foul odors, this is the
place where the owner got caught on charge of pocketing unfair profit
by using the technique of increasing weight of slaughtered dogs by
filling up the blood vessel with water.

In the yard, more than 10 dogs trapped in wire cages were screaming
and the five cast-iron cauldrons were steaming. This is where the
slaughtered dogs are boiled. 5 bags of dog foods neatly piled up in a
temporary building next to the slaughter area showed that this illegal
dog slaughter has been going on for awhile.

A truck entered the farm/slaughterhouse and a men looks to be in his
50′s got off the truck and sharply reacted by asking “Who are you?”. 2
workers wearing long plastic aprons ran out of the slaughterhouse
after hearing the noise. This is shortly after the charge is filed for
the slaughterhouse owner so the atmosphere was rough. When we asked
why they injected water into the dog’s blood vessel, they claimed, “We
washed the blood inside the blood vessel with water and it’s
unbelievable that we are being accused of inflating the weight.”

This farm is registered as a meat seller on paper but is actually a
slaughterhouse for slaughtering dogs. They were all unauthorized
buildings without permit from the administrative agency. On July 6, 2
people including the farm owner Mr. Bae (50) were charged on suspicion
of setting up an unlicensed slaughterhouse and selling slaughtered
dogs after inflating their weight by injecting on average 1.5L of
water to each dog by connecting a specially designed high pressure
water hose into their blood vessel. They are accused of inflating the
weight of dogs by approximately 1,800g per dog. The workers claimed
that they slaughter about 3 or 4 dogs per day. However, the illegal
slaughter continues because the Goyang-city administrative agencies
have not taken a measure to close the slaughterhouse.

It is known that this farm was fined 3,000,000 Korean Won
(approximately $2,600 USD) last year on charge of discharging
wastewater into the nearby river. Mr. Bae and his workers have
illegally slaughtered more than 730 dogs from July last year to
recently. According to the police, they distributed these dog meat to
the local restaurants within Goyang-city and pocketed unfair profit of
210,000,000 Korean Won (approximately $180K USD). They are also
accused of unauthorized discharge of wastewater created in the process
of dog slaughtering and water injecting to the nearby river.

However, currently there is no way to punish them on charges of
illegal slaughtering of dogs. Illegal slaughtering of cows, pigs,
chickens or ducks are subject to administrative penalties but dogs are
not even defined as a “livestock” under the livestock processing law.
Therefore, slaughtering of dogs is not regulated.

Goyang-city official said, “We will soon demolish these illegal
buildings and shut down the business. It’s difficult to sanction for
illegal slaughter using the current law. Administrative penalty is
possible only on the unauthorized discharge of sewage.” Another
official added, “With the upcoming busy dog meat season, it’s
concerning that the dogs slaughtered at a place outside any legal
restriction and sanitation surveillance are being distributed into the
market.”

[Description of photo] July 9, 2012. At an illegal dog slaughterhouse
located on a hillside of Goyang-city, Ilsandonggu seongseokdong
Gyeonggido-province, a dead dog is lying on the ground with his hair
partially pulled out. In a cage right next, a live dog waiting to be
slaughtered is looking at the dead dog.