Nearly 200 dogs saved from slaughter as HSI shuts down 18th dog meat farm

Late last year, Humane Society International discovered another heartbreaking scene on a South Korean dog meat farm: Dozens and dozens of dogs were locked in feces-filled cages awaiting slaughter. Many were pregnant, days away from giving birth to puppies who would only know a life of misery.

In early March, international team members arrived in Seoul to support HSI/Korea in removing these dogs and starting the rehabilitation process.

This was the 18th dog meat farm Humane Society International has closed. The dog meat farmer, 73-year-old Mr. Yang, who has been operating in South Korea’s Chungcheong province, will now retire and grow cabbages and other crops to be self-sufficient and to sell locally, thanks to Humane Society International/Korea’s Models for Change program, which has been helping farmers transition away from dog meat since 2015.

This closure is part of HSI’s efforts to end the dog meat trade throughout Asia, and it comes at a particularly crucial time, as public and political support for our position is increasing in South Korea. National Assembly Member Insoon Nam and members of her staff also joined the HSI team on the farm to see the conditions themselves in a sign of growing support for ending the dog meat industry in South Korea,

Last year, first South Korea’s First Lady, Kim Keon-hee, openly called for a ban on the industry, and latest opinion surveys show that 87.5% of South Koreans don’t eat dog meat and 56% support a ban. HSI’s campaign has been working for years to raise awareness about the plight of dogs on meat farms, urging the government to begin a program that mirrors HSI’s model to phase out dog meat.

The nearly 200 dogs and puppies our team saved from the now-shuttered farm are being transported to the U.S. and Canada to eventually seek adoptive families. But first they will need to heal from their trauma.