Dogs in South Korea ... best friend or dinner?

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In South Korea, dogs are routinely ... Wrenched from steaming, squalid crates where they’re packed like sardines to sell in the marketplace Strung up by their necks as other imprisoned dogs watch in terror, then Ruthlessly beaten as they dangle helplessly, urinating and defecating on themselves in an agonizing spiral of death. Click here to see how you can help right now! The entire sickening process can take an hour or more. Only then is “man’s best friend” deemed ready for the dinner plate. He’s blowtorched, then butchered for barbecue, the evening’s meal. And cats? They’re boiled alive in pressure cookers to make an “elixir” (death juice!) called goyangi soju. It’s believed to cure rheumatism and neuralgia. As many as TWO MILLION cats and dogs are slaughtered for the meat trade every year in South Korea. Yes, it makes you angry. That’s why your donation to IDA is urgently needed now. Because incredibly – finally – there are glimmers of hope. Only thanks to your support has IDA been able to campaign in South Korea all these years. Things are beginning to change. To end this practice we still have much work to do ... At the front lines is one of IDA's partners on the ground in South Korea, an organization called Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE). They’ve been remarkably effective: They received a tip about a dog meat “farm” in the remote Gyeonggi Province. CARE activists visited the facility. What they found was appalling. Dogs were living in ramshackle cages. Some had injuries. All sat in piles of feces. At the risk of arrest and personal injury, they rescued the dogs and brought them to CARE’s shelter to be treated, cleaned, and loved for the first time. CARE filed a civil complaint against the facility and the owner agreed to demolish the buildings and not obtain any more dogs – a HUGE win for the dogs of South Korea! With IDA’s assistance, CARE is gearing up for lawsuits against dog meat shops in Gyeonggi Province. Grassroots protests against the dog meat trade are now held every Sunday in South Korea. CARE learned of a Goyang City government shelter selling rescued dogs and cats to meat traders. They investigated, gathered evidence and exposed the shelter to the media. The heartless shelter employees who were trafficking in cruelty? FIRED! The illegal trade of animals in Goyang City shelters? HALTED! Without IDA's support of CARE that you make possible, these recent victories for South Korea’s dogs and cats couldn’t continue. Here are just a few things that your donation today will directly help fund ... $10,000 will help CARE purchase a rescue van that will traverse all of South Korea, and hundreds of additional dogs and cats will be rescued each year. Help IDA support work on a groundbreaking documentary that will expose the truth to South Koreans about the deception behind the “dog-eating culture in South Korea.” Print thousands of brochures, flyers and posters – to flood key government officials with petitions, phone calls, letters, e-mails and faxes. In addition to your donation, there’s even more you can do ... Our fifth annual International Day of Action is set for August 16, 2011. Events have been held in numerous countries – including South Korea – on five different continents. In the U.S., IDA has had a presence at every single South Korean Embassy and Consulate. Your donation will fund the groundwork for the 2011 International Day of Action, which promises to be the biggest yet. Thank you for your commitment to end the suffering of our animal friends. Whatever you are able to donate today will be put to immediate and cost-effective use to end the torture and killing of dogs and cats in South Korea – and help animals wherever they are in desperate need. May the kindness you show today return to you in a hundred wonderful ways. For the animals, Elliot M. Katz, DVM President and Founder In Defense of Animals In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa. In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible. In Defense of Animals 3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901 Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031 idainfo@idausa.org To unsubscribe, or to change your email preferences, please click here.

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