Author: Kristin Stone

Humane Society International

Jean Chung/For HSI

South Korea is the only known country in the world where dogs are intensively farmed for human consumption. Over 500,000 dogs are confined in thousands of dog meat farms across the country, exposed to the elements in small, barren, filthy cages, with minimal food and water. Many suffer from disease and malnutrition, and all endure severe daily neglect. The methods used to kill these dogs are brutal, with electrocution being the most common. They are slaughtered in full view of other dogs, making their final moments both painful and terrifying.

HSI’s goal has been to secure a ban on the dog meat industry. Our efforts to close dog meat farms have been a key part of a successful strategy to create the political and societal momentum necessary to pass a legislative ban. This culminated in the South Korea National Assembly’s decision in January 2024 to ban the industry. A crucial factor in building political support has been demonstrating that the dog meat industry can be phased out in cooperation with, rather than conflict with, farmers. Since 2015, HSI/Korea has worked with dog meat farmers who are eager to leave the industry, helping them shut down their operations and transition to humane livelihoods with the dogs voluntarily handed over to HSI for adoption.

While some of the dogs we rescue find loving homes in South Korea, many are flown to other countries for adoption due to the low adoption culture in this country, where people generally prefer to buy small pedigree dogs. There is also a misconception among some that “meat dogs” are different from “pet dogs.” We are working to change this perception through public education and sharing adoption stories that clearly show there is no difference between pet dogs and dog meat dogs with the aim of increasing shelter adoption in South Korea.

Rescues

Farm closure 1: January 2015 was HSI’s first farm closure where 23 dogs were rescued, the farm closed and HSI supported the farmer switching to blueberry farming. All 23 dogs were flown to the United States, divided among five Washington D.C. area shelters, and have been adopted into loving homes as family pets. Many of them act as ambassadors for our campaign.

Farm closure 2: took place in March 2015 in Hongseong, this time rescuing 60 dogs—a mixture of breeds including beagles, poodles, Korean Jindos and large Tosas. Once again, the farmer ended dog meat farming for good. Tae Hyung Lee had bred dogs for meat for 20 years; facing criticism from family members for his participation in this cruel trade, he was eager to work with HSI to close his farm and start a new business. All but two of the 60 dogs now live in the United States, in loving, caring environments, with two (a mother and pup poodle) happily adopted in South Korea.

Farm closure three September 2015 was our largest yet, rescuing all 123 dogs from a farm in Chungcheongnam-do. All 123 dogs—a mixture of breeds ranging from the large mastiffs most often considered as “meat dogs” in South Korea, to Jindo mixes, Spaniel mixes and Chihuahuas–were transported to shelters in California, Oregon and Washington State in the United States.

Farm closure four In December 2015, HSI rescued 27 dogs and puppies from a small “starter” dog meat farm in South Korea. The dogs were flown to the United States and divided among five area shelters for care and adoption.

Farm closure five: This was a rescue conducted in two parts, in total rescuing 267 dogs. Part one took place in February 2016, rescuing 50 dogs from a dog meat farm in Wonju; part two took place in April 2016, rescuing the remaining 217 dogs. The dogs from this farm are a mixture of breeds including Husky, Labrador, Golden Retriever, Mastiff and Jindo mixes.

Chicken Farm Dog Rescue: In July 2016, Humane Society International worked with Free Korean Dogs to assist a local activist called Jinoak in South Korea with re-homing dogs who had been rescued from a dog meat farm. Jinoak had discovered the dog meat farm containing 51 dogs, bought them from the farmer, and built a shelter to house the dogs. With assistance from Free Korean Dogs, Jinoak placed some of the dogs for adoption, and HSI stepped in to help re-home the remaining dogs. One of HSI’s Shelter and Rescue Partners in Helena, Montana, in the United States—Lewis and Clark Humane Society—agreed to take the dogs. One dog found an adopter online and was flown directly to Toronto to his new home.

Jeonju Farm Dog Rescue: In September 2016, HSI worked again with Free Korean Dogs to rescue 31 dogs from a dog meat farm after Korean authorities ordered the farm to shut down for operating illegally without a license. HSI assisted with re-homing five of the dogs.

Farm closure six: In January 2017, HSI closed a farm in Wonju and rescued all 219 dogs, flown to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom for adoption. The farmer, a mother with a teenage daughter, was keen to leave the trade and move to the city to start a better life for herself and her child.

Farm closure seven: In March 2017, HSI closed down a farm in Goyang and rescued all 67 dogs, flown to the United States for adoption. The elderly farmer and his wife were keen to retire due to age, ill health and their increasing unease at breeding dogs for eating—in fact the farmer had stopped selling his dogs for slaughter and stopped eating dog himself.

Farm closure eight: In June 2017, 16 dogs were rescued by HSI from a small backyard breeding operation in Seongnam (total includes two puppies born to one of the mama dogs shortly after we rescued her). The owner bred the dogs to sell to a nearby dog meat market. All the dogs were transported to the United States for adoption.

Farm closure nine: In July 2017, HSI closed a dog farm in Yesan and rescued all 149 dogs from the property, including 14 newborn pups. The dogs were flown to the United States to find homes.

Gongju city farm rescue: In October 2017, HSI/Korea assisted Korean animal partners KAWA in rescuing 23 dogs, mainly Tosas, from a farm in Gongju city.

Farm closure 10: In November/December 2017, HSI closed a dog meat farm in Namyangju rescuing more than 170 dogs, who were flown to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to find new homes.

Farm closure 11: In March 2018, HSI closed a small dog meat farm in Gyeonggi-do province, with 105 dogs and puppies transported to Canada.

Farm closure 12: In June 2018, HSI reached an agreement with a farmer in Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do to remove the last 50 dogs from his dog meat farm before he shut it down to expand his more profitable water parsley business. We flew the dogs to Canada to start their new lives.

Farm closure 13: In October 2018, we worked with Farmer Lee in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea to shut down his dog meat farm after 14 years, rescuing 200 dogs and flying them to Shelter and Rescue Partners in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Lee plans to expand his medicinal herb farm instead.

Farm closure 14: In February 2019, HSI closed a dog farm in Hongcheon with nearly 200 dogs, including a combined puppy mill operation.

Gupo dog meat market rescue: In July 2019, HSI/Korea worked with Korean partners KAWA, KARA and Busan Korean Alliance for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and alongside local authorities to rescue 85 dogs from Gupo dog meat market in Busan upon its closure.

Farm closure 15: In September 2019, HSI closed down a dog farm in Gyeonggi-do with more than 90 dogs and puppies.

Farm closure 16: In May 2020, HSI closed down a dog farm in Hongseong-gun, rescuing more than 70 dogs and puppies.

Farm closure 17: In October 2020, HSI shut a dog meat farm in Haemi and saved 170+ dogs from the dog meat trade.

Paju rescue: In October 2020, HSI/Korea assisted local groups with the rescue of 14 Jindo dogs from a small farm which the farmer had agreed to close.

Gimpo rescue: In December 2020, HSI/Korea assisted Korean partners LIFE and regional officials in rescuing more than 100 poodles, Jindos, Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus, Pomeranians, Spitz, Schnauzers and more caged in deplorable conditions on a junkyard farm where they had been bred and sold for both the pet trade and the dog meat trade.

Yongin rescue: In April 2021, HSI/Korea joined with Korean animal protection groups LIFE, KoreanK9Rescue and Yongin Animal Care Association to save 50 dogs from being euthanized on a dog meat farm in Yongin city after the facility was closed down by the authorities.

Jindo Island farm closure: In August 2021, HSI/Korea assisted our Korean partners LIFE to rescue 65 Jindo dogs and puppies from a farm on Jindo Island. The farm was being investigated and shut down by local authorities for having breached the Animal Protection Act due to dogs being killed in front of each other.

Ansan rescue: In July 2022, HSI/Korea assisted Korean K9 Rescue in removing 21 dogs left behind when Ansan city authorities closed an illegal dog meat farm in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Officials had already removed 38 dogs to their shelter for rehoming, but left 21 behind with a deadline for removal or they would be at risk of being euthanized or sold to a slaughterhouse. The farmer had been breeding dogs for human consumption at the site for six years.

Farm closure 18: In March 2023, HSI/Korea closed down a farm in Asan-si, Chungcheong province and rescued 200 dogs and puppies on the property. The farmer, Mr. Yang, planned to retire and grow vegetables to sell locally.

Humane Society International

Through a partnership with the Vietnamese government, HSI’s “I’m a Little Pangolin” book will be used in schools to help teach children about pangolin poaching concerns and conservation efforts.

Click the lower-left icon to view in full-screen mode.

Watch the “I”m a Little Pangolin” video:

Humane Society International

Through a partnership with the Vietnamese government, HSI’s “I’m a Little Elephant” book will be used in schools to help teach children about elephant poaching concerns and conservation efforts.

You can click the lower-left icon to view in full-screen mode.

Watch the “I’m a Little Elephant” video.

Humane Society International

  • The whale sanctuary proposal is gaining momentum. Vicki Beaver/iStockphotography

Update, October 27, 2016: Delegates voted in favor of:

  • a resolution to formally recognize the important role that whales play in looking after the health of the marine environment, as well as the loss to marine ecosystems resulting from declining whale populations
  • a resolution to strengthen the review process for whaling under “special permit,” a provision under Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling under which Japan has since 1987 issued to itself a permit to kill whales for scientific research
  • an urgent draft resolution by the USA to save Mexico’s vaquita porpoise (thought to be the most critically endangered cetacean species in the world, with only an estimated 59 animals remaining in the Upper Gulf of California) from extinction.

Our fight to save whales from commercial whaling continues after a proposal to establish a South Atlantic sanctuary for whales failed this week at the International Whaling Conference, which is still in progress in Portorož, Slovenia. A host of nations far from the South Atlantic voted against the proposal, urged on by Japan, which defied a 2014 International Court of Justice ruling earlier this year that sought to end whaling in the southern ocean whale sanctuary.

Some 70 percent of the almost three million whales killed globally during the 20th century were taken in the southern hemisphere. The designation of a sanctuary in those waters would be the best way to make amends for this sad history of exploitation. The HSUS and Humane Society Internationalhave been at the front lines of the fight against commercial whaling since the early 1970s, and we’re on the ground in Slovenia fighting for whales.

Please support our efforts to protect wildlife.

Among the most pressing issues that are before us now, the preservation of the IWC’s commercial whaling ban against the attempts of Japan and others to undermine it remains paramount. The global moratorium, implemented 30 years ago, has likely saved tens of thousands of whales, and it has isolated the three nations that continue to whale — Iceland, Japan, and Norway — as outliers.

The safety and well-being of whales is also threatened by many factors apart from whaling — things like ship strikes, bycatch, entanglement, marine debris, and toxic pollution. Fortunately, the IWC has expanded its work to address these threats in recent years, and become a strong example of an international body that has evolved with the times to meet pressing needs. The positive agenda of the IWC, through its scientific committee and other channels, underscores the genuine transformation of the organization since the days when animal advocates aptly dubbed it “a club for whalers.”

This year’s meeting of the IWC, which has steadily shifted toward whale preservation, marks not only the 30th anniversary of the moratorium but also the 70th anniversary of the treaty that established the IWC, making this a good time to take stock of its achievements. Unfortunately, given the continuing influence of Japan in its bilateral relationships with a large number of nations in Africa and the Caribbean, there are still some limits to the progress whale protectionists can achieve at IWC. But the good news is, the whale sanctuary proposal is gaining momentum in other quarters. In September 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) affirmed its support for a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean, a position reiterated by an IUCN representative at Portorož.

Champions of the sanctuary proposal include all of the range nation states bordering the South Atlantic, like Argentina, Brazil, Gabon, South Africa, and Uruguay, which have passed strong national legislation to protect whales and marine ecosystems near their shorelines. In recent years they’ve also added a true management plan to their proposal, laying out the way such a sanctuary might work for all. The proposed sanctuary, encompassing known breeding grounds for all large whale species in the South Atlantic Ocean, would prevent the direct commercial take of cetaceans.

Japan is the biggest global problem for whales, and that’s an issue we’ll continue to confront to bring this island nation into the growing community of states that want to preserve and protect the largest animals who have ever lived on our planet. Donate now to help marine and other animals.

Humane Society International

Dog rescued from the dog meat trade in China.
The rescued dogs were gentle and social despite their ordeal. CAPP

Last month, HSI-supported China Animal Protection Power worked with other local groups to rescue 72 dogs from a dog meat restaurant, a roadside slaughter operation and two other slaughterhouses in Henan Province in Central China–a supply center for the country’s three major dog meat markets.

“The animals were in extremely poor shape when we arrived,” said CAPP activist Biao Han of the group taken from the restaurant. Eight or nine were close to death. Two dogs too weak to lift their heads still wagged their tails when petted. “These dogs could have been snatched from people’s backyards or grabbed off the streets,” said Biao.

Give now to help fight the terrible dog meat trade and keep all animals safe.

One sweet young Tibetan mastiff broke everyone’s heart. He was huge, but terribly emaciated. He had likely been starving for days or weeks, but he still looked happy to see his rescuers, as if he knew he was finally safe. All the dogs were skinny, smelly and dirty, and the room where they were kept was filthy.

With funding from HSI, CAPP activists purchased medicine and delivered it to the shelter to treat those suffering from distemper, pneumonia, injury and malnutrition. Forty-three dogs remain at the facility; the rest have already found homes.

CAPP activists are finalizing a petition to be sent to the authorities calling to stop public dog slaughter, crack down on theft and illegal transport of dogs, and shut down the province’s dog meat industry.

Since July, they have staged three protests at an open market where dogs are slaughtered in broad daylight. They displayed banners reading “Shut Down Public Dog Slaughter, Protect the Youth” to express their outrage that such bloody scenes are imposed on shoppers and pedestrians, including young children. Help stop the cruelty.

Humane Society International

Despite tremendous progress by the governments and the private sector towards ending the confinement of egg-laying hens, pregnant sows, and other farm animals in restrictive cages and crates, major international financial institutions continue to support large agribusiness facilities in emerging markets that employ these and other cruel housing systems.

Many of these financial institutions, including major development banks, are supported by countries that have themselves banned the continual confinement of animals in cages and crates, including Member States of the European Union.

Humane Society International is working with financial institutions around the world to adopt strong and binding animal welfare standards, thereby ending financing for cruel farm animal housing systems globally.

Learn more

Humane Society International

  • Badger are under threat in England. Stuart Matthews

Culling causes great suffering to badgers with no meaningful benefit to farmers or their cattle. It is also costly for both farmers and taxpayers, and is opposed by the majority of scientists and wildlife experts.

Since the first licences were issued in 2013, thousands of badgers have been killed in parts of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset, and the government is looking to expand the killing to new areas of England over the coming years.

In August 2016, officials confirmed that they had issued licences for seven new cull zones, taking the total to ten cull zones across six counties: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset. The government estimated that between 9,800 and 14,200 badgers would be targeted during the 2016 cull.

Speak out: Join us in calling for an end to the badger cull.

What scientists say:

The majority of scientific experts oppose the government’s badger culling policy:

  • The largest-ever study conducted to examine whether culling badgers would reduce TB bovine in cattle, a ten-year, £50m study called the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, concluded in 2007 that: “… badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain.”
  • The scientists who oversaw that study also stated: “It is unfortunate that agricultural and veterinary leaders continue to believe, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, that the main approach to cattle TB control must involve some form of badger population control.”
  • In 2012, Lord Krebs, a key scientist involved in the RBCT study, called the government’s cull policy “mindless”, adding: “The scientific case is as clear as it can be: This cull is not the answer to TB in cattle. The government is cherry-picking bits of data to support its case.”
  • A letter signed by 31 eminent scientists in October 2012 described the cull as a “costly distraction” and stated, “As scientists with expertise in managing wildlife and wildlife diseases, we believe the complexities of TB transmission mean that licensed culling risks increasing cattle TB rather than reducing it.”
  • In 2015, a group of scientists and wildlife experts wrote an open letter calling on the government to “reconsider, immediately, the decision to continue and extend the culling of badgers.”

Badger suffering

The 2013 culls were damned as both “inhumane” and “ineffective” by the government-appointed Independent Expert Panel.

The IEP report stated: “It is extremely likely that between 7.4 per cent and 22.8 per cent of badgers that were shot at were still alive after 5 minutes, and therefore at risk of experiencing marked pain. We are concerned at the potential for suffering that these figures imply.”

The IEP used data showing the accuracy of shooting to assess the humaneness of the cull. The data shows that this figure has not improved during the 2014 or 2015 culls, and that the culls continue to be “inhumane.”

Badgers are killed by two methods: by “cage trapping and shooting,” where they are caught in cage traps and then shot at close range; or by “controlled” shooting, where a cull company contractor shoots them with a rifle in the countryside at night.

In April 2015, the British Veterinary Association, concerned at the level of humaneness, withdrew its support for the use of “controlled” shooting. It stated: “BVA believes that it has not been demonstrated conclusively that controlled shooting can be carried out effectively and humanely based on the criteria that were set for the pilots. Nor are we confident that the effectiveness and humaneness can be significantly further improved, despite Defra’s assurances after the first year of culling. We therefore do not support the continued use of controlled shooting as part of the badger control policy.”

Numbers of badgers targeted

Natural England estimated that between 2,300 and 3,300 animals would be killed in each cull zone over a full four-year culling period. If the culling policy is rolled out to its full extent, up to 130,000 badgers could be killed.

Badgers and Bovine TB

There has been no routine testing of badgers killed during culling to establish whether they carried bovine TB. Data from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial showed that even in bovine TB hotspots only around 15 per cent of badgers carried the infection and, of a large sample tested during the Trial, only about 1 per cent showed extensive, severe, signs of disease and were therefore likely to be a risk to cattle or other animals.

Costs

The cull cost the government £16.8 million for the period 2012-2014, during which time 2,476 badgers were culled, equating to approximately £6,700 for every badger killed. During the 2015 culls, 1,467 badgers were killed.

Alternatives to culling

Farmers and the public have been falsely presented with the impression that without the large-scale killing of badgers, bovine tuberculosis in cattle cannot be effectively controlled.

However, this is not the view of scientists involved in the ten-year RBCT study. The final report from the RBCT clearly states: “Weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection.” It continues, “Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone.”

In Wales, where stricter cattle testing and movement restrictions have been implemented in recent years (and where badger vaccination is undertaken and there is no badger culling), the number of cattle slaughtered as a result of bovine TB was reduced from 11,671 in 2009, to 6,379 in 2014, or some 45 per cent. Tell the government to stop killing badgers.

Humane Society International

  • Badger are under threat in England. Stuart Matthews

Culling causes great suffering to badgers with no meaningful benefit to farmers or their cattle. It is also costly for both farmers and taxpayers, and is opposed by the majority of scientists and wildlife experts.

Since the first licences were issued in 2013, thousands of badgers have been killed in parts of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset, and the government is looking to expand the killing to new areas of England over the coming years.

In August 2016, officials confirmed that they had issued licences for seven new cull zones, taking the total to ten cull zones across six counties: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset. The government estimated that between 9,800 and 14,200 badgers would be targeted during the 2016 cull.

Speak out: Join us in calling for an end to the badger cull.

What scientists say:

The majority of scientific experts oppose the government’s badger culling policy:

  • The largest-ever study conducted to examine whether culling badgers would reduce TB bovine in cattle, a ten-year, £50m study called the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, concluded in 2007 that: “… badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain.”
  • The scientists who oversaw that study also stated: “It is unfortunate that agricultural and veterinary leaders continue to believe, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, that the main approach to cattle TB control must involve some form of badger population control.”
  • In 2012, Lord Krebs, a key scientist involved in the RBCT study, called the government’s cull policy “mindless”, adding: “The scientific case is as clear as it can be: This cull is not the answer to TB in cattle. The government is cherry-picking bits of data to support its case.”
  • A letter signed by 31 eminent scientists in October 2012 described the cull as a “costly distraction” and stated, “As scientists with expertise in managing wildlife and wildlife diseases, we believe the complexities of TB transmission mean that licensed culling risks increasing cattle TB rather than reducing it.”
  • In 2015, a group of scientists and wildlife experts wrote an open letter calling on the government to “reconsider, immediately, the decision to continue and extend the culling of badgers.”

Badger suffering

The 2013 culls were damned as both “inhumane” and “ineffective” by the government-appointed Independent Expert Panel.

The IEP report stated: “It is extremely likely that between 7.4 per cent and 22.8 per cent of badgers that were shot at were still alive after 5 minutes, and therefore at risk of experiencing marked pain. We are concerned at the potential for suffering that these figures imply.”

The IEP used data showing the accuracy of shooting to assess the humaneness of the cull. The data shows that this figure has not improved during the 2014 or 2015 culls, and that the culls continue to be “inhumane.”

Badgers are killed by two methods: by “cage trapping and shooting,” where they are caught in cage traps and then shot at close range; or by “controlled” shooting, where a cull company contractor shoots them with a rifle in the countryside at night.

In April 2015, the British Veterinary Association, concerned at the level of humaneness, withdrew its support for the use of “controlled” shooting. It stated: “BVA believes that it has not been demonstrated conclusively that controlled shooting can be carried out effectively and humanely based on the criteria that were set for the pilots. Nor are we confident that the effectiveness and humaneness can be significantly further improved, despite Defra’s assurances after the first year of culling. We therefore do not support the continued use of controlled shooting as part of the badger control policy.”

Numbers of badgers targeted

Natural England estimated that between 2,300 and 3,300 animals would be killed in each cull zone over a full four-year culling period. If the culling policy is rolled out to its full extent, up to 130,000 badgers could be killed.

Badgers and Bovine TB

There has been no routine testing of badgers killed during culling to establish whether they carried bovine TB. Data from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial showed that even in bovine TB hotspots only around 15 per cent of badgers carried the infection and, of a large sample tested during the Trial, only about 1 per cent showed extensive, severe, signs of disease and were therefore likely to be a risk to cattle or other animals.

Costs

The cull cost the government £16.8 million for the period 2012-2014, during which time 2,476 badgers were culled, equating to approximately £6,700 for every badger killed. During the 2015 culls, 1,467 badgers were killed.

Alternatives to culling

Farmers and the public have been falsely presented with the impression that without the large-scale killing of badgers, bovine tuberculosis in cattle cannot be effectively controlled.

However, this is not the view of scientists involved in the ten-year RBCT study. The final report from the RBCT clearly states: “Weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection.” It continues, “Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone.”

In Wales, where stricter cattle testing and movement restrictions have been implemented in recent years (and where badger vaccination is undertaken and there is no badger culling), the number of cattle slaughtered as a result of bovine TB was reduced from 11,671 in 2009, to 6,379 in 2014, or some 45 per cent. Tell the government to stop killing badgers.

Humane Society International

  • Sally’s passion for her work is clear! HSI

  • Captured for spay/neuter. HSI

  • Most dogs are very sweet and friendly. HSI

  • Unloading dogs from the van. HSI

  • They’re released back to the same spot they came from. HSI

  • Men who used to cull dogs came to treat them with compassion. HSI

  • Surrounded by cuteness! HSI

  • The dogs allowed themselves to be handled quite willingly. HSI

  • Dealing with dogs on-campus. HSI

by Sally Kannan

Given Kerala’s reputation as not being very friendly towards animals, I was surprised to be invited by the Animal Husbandry Department of the state’s Palakkad District to manage their Animal Birth Control program. The government wanted me to train the area’s dog catchers to handle the dogs in a humane and compassionate manner—the first time such as request had been made there. Even the name of the program, “Dog-Friendly Palakkad,” demonstrated a positive attitude.

All of the men I was to instruct used to cull dogs for a living, and it was a real challenge for me to change their feelings, but within a few days, these people who used to seize animals with poles and wires were catching them by hand and treating them gently. Even dogs who were initially aggressive responded to the kindness they were shown.

The tolerance shown by the public was also commendable. Every time we went out, we gave a brief lecture for the people nearby, explaining ABC and why it was important to release the animals back to the same place they came from after their spay/neuter surgery. I strongly believe that awareness is the key; we must engage citizens in a dialogue and dispel misconceptions about street dogs.

Donate now to support our lifesaving street dog initiative.

It was heartwarming to see people lovingly accepting the animals back into their community. Some kids were worried seeing us with dogs near their school, but I reassured them that these dogs were docile and could be trusted. Hearing me speak, someone came forward and adopted a puppy we had just let go. It was one of my happiest days ever. Help make a difference for more dogs in India and worldwide.

Sally is a consultant with HSI/India and an honorary member of the Animal Welfare Board of India. She and her husband also run a rescue shelter called Save A Life. She has been recognized by the president of India as one of the country’s Top 100 Women Achievers.

Humane Society International

Through a partnership with the Vietnamese government, HSI’s “I’m a Little Tiger” book will be used in schools to help teach children about tiger poaching concerns and conservation efforts.

Watch the video.

You can click the lower-left icon to view in full-screen mode, or here to download a PDF.

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