Various activists gathered at San Francisco’s Korean Trade Expo to urge attendees to join the campaign by Animal Freedom Korea and In Defense of Animals to get the South Korean Government to withdraw a back-door effort to legalize dog meat. Attendees were shocked to learn that the Korean Ministry of the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced in March plans to “hygienically control” dog meat. As Animal Freedom Korea have indicated, “Whether or not the Office officially legalizes it, by managing and inspecting dog meat, the Government is essentially permitting it.” Hygienically controlling dog meat is nothing more than a euphemism for legalizing it. If this proposal succeeds, millions of dogs will continue to suffer, but now with the Government's watchful approval. Cats don’t fare any better: ­viewed as pest animals, they are boiled alive so their “juices” can be extracted for health tonics purported by butchers to alleviate symptoms of rheumatism. According to In Defense of Animals, dog slaughter involves, "...two million South Korean dogs are electrocuted, strangled, or bludgeoned to death each year. Then they're boiled, skinned, browned by a torch, chopped up and eaten". Also according to IDA, "Thirty percent are stolen from families that love them. Most are homeless dogs, captured by butchers and sold in open markets".

Report & Photos from Korean Trade Expo: 1 | 2
Further Info on Korean & U.S. Anti-Dog Meat Efforts: 1 | 2
IDA's What You Can Do