No longer on the menu
Humane Society International animal rescue worker Ewa Demianowitz cuddles rescued dog Maxie on Tuesday. Maxie is one of the dogs rescued from a South Korea dog meat farm that are staying at Sharp Transportation in Cambridge to be cared for until they can be moved to shelters in Ontario and Quebec.
CAMBRIDGE — Dogs rescued from the “constant misery and deprivation” of a South Korean dog meat farm made a stop in Cambridge for veterinary care before heading on to adoption agencies.
The dogs will become ambassadors for Humane Society International/Canada’s campaign to shut down the dog meat trade in Asia.
“This is a gruesome industry that kills more than 30 million dogs every year,” said Rebecca Aldworth, the agency’s executive director.
Aldworth was at the temporary shelter set up at Sharp Transportation on Tuesday for a media tour.
More than 170 dogs have been rescued from a farm in South Korea and are now destined for adoption in North America and the United Kingdom. Fifty dogs will stop in Cambridge before moving on to shelters and rescue groups in Quebec and Ontario.
“We’re asking the public to open their hearts and open their homes to these very deserving dogs,” Aldworth said.
Conditions are tough on dog meat farms, she said. There’s no protection from the elements, food is sparse and the quality poor, and the wire-floored cages cause open sores on the dogs’ feet and body.
“The dogs were really suffering,” Aldworth said.
This is the tenth dog meat farm the organization has shut down in South Korea, rescuing 1,200 dogs in total and supporting the farmers to transition to more humane ventures.
But with 17,000 dog meat farms in South Korea, closing one at a time isn’t feasible for the organization.
“That’s why the government needs to step forward and take action,” Aldworth said.
She said now is the time to put pressure on the government to take action, especially with the nation in the international spotlight as the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, approaches.
Eating dog meat is a long-standing custom, but in more recent years it has become commercialized, Aldworth said. The dog meat trade is most widespread in China, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Nagaland state in northern India. In South Korea, about 2.5 million dogs are killed every year for human consumption.
At the same time, there’s a growing pet culture in Asia that’s also bringing a growing interest in ending the trade.
“They are the same dogs as we have at home,” said Ewa Demianowicz, senior campaign manager who was at the farm to remove the dogs. “We know that all they want is a life, to be a pet and have a family.”
The dogs temporarily housed in Cambridge were mostly outgoing and eager for attention, with just a couple tucked into the back of their crate.
The dogs seemed comfortable and relaxed, but there were telltale signs of the poor conditions they had been living in just a few days ago. Bones protruded on the short-haired dogs, sores were visible and some had stunted development from the neglect.
But taken outside into the fresh snow for a walk, the dogs frolicked happily.
“What always strikes me is the resilience of dogs,” Aldworth said. “They will make amazing companion animals for some lucky families.”