OPINIONS

FIFA Urges South Korean Government 
to end cruelty to animals

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

FIFA, football’s international governing body, recently urged the South Korean government to “put an immediate end” to the routine torture of dogs and cats as the country gears up to co-host next year’s World Cup tournament. Another encouraging development is a recent statement from the South Korean prime minister’s office announcing his intention to address the mistreatment of dogs prior to slaughter. Until tangible measures are taken, however, it is critical to keep the pressure on by writing to officials and asking that specific language be inserted into the Animal Protection Act prohibiting cruelty to companion animal. 

In case you didn’t know, the atrocities inflicted upon dogs and cats slaughtered for human consumption in South Korea are shockingly cruel: Dogs are often fully conscious as they are strung up by their necks and beaten violently in order to increase the flow of adrenaline in their flesh, which is believed to increase the virility of men who eat it. Cats endure a fate just as horrific. A recent ITN news report confirms that cats are often boiled alive in order to extract their “juice” for use in medicinal “tonics.” According to the report, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals states that “cats are placed intoboiling water while they are still alive. They are basically boiled to death over a long period … using pressure cookers.”

Many dogs and cats raised for consumption in South Korea await this nightmarish fate on farms and in markets where they endure horrible conditions in crowded cages—often so small that standing up is impossible—without food or water for days on end. And although current South Korean law technically prohibits cruelty to companion animals and denounces the consumption of dog soup, these laws are mere façades with absolutely no enforcement. Sadly, the cruel treatment of these animals continues to this day and is all too common.


It is important to let the Korean Embassy in your country know that you are opposed to this treatment and that you will not visit South Korea or buy South Korean products until the Animal Protection Act is amended to include specific language prohibiting the beating, hanging, electrocution, burning, boiling alive, and all other abuse of dogs and cats.

It is also critical that the World Cup 2002, which will surely generate much revenue for South Korea, be used as a forum to express international outrage over the torture of these animals until tangible measures are taken to alleviate suffering. Please continue to contact the president of the Fédération 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 urge them to keep pressure on the South Korean government to immediately amend the Animal Protection Act to prohibit the beating, hanging, electrocution, burning, boiling alive, and all other abuse of dogs and cats.

If you live in the U.K., please write to the Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO), which is soliciting input from British residents about their views on South Korea as the World Cup approaches. KNTO’s London office has even provided a free mailing address where comments can be sent.

Please let them know that you will not be visiting South Korea until the government amends the Animal Protection Act of
1991 to include language explicitly prohibiting the beating, hanging, burning, boiling alive, and all other abuse of dogs and cats before slaughter. Tell them that you will be urging your friends and family who are considering attending the World Cup not to go unless greater protection is afforded to dogs and cats there.

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals <www.peta.org>

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