Issue Type: Companion Animals

Humane Society International

Legislation

The following resources can assist animal advocates with researching animal welfare/protection laws in their countries and drafting new laws. Humane Society International is also available to work with NGOs on drafting and reforming their countries’ legislation. Contact us here.

  • Animal Legal and Historical Center, a comprehensive repository of information about animal law, including: over 1200 full text cases (US, historical, and UK), over 1400 US statutes, over 60 topics and comprehensive explanations, legal articles on a variety of animal topics and an international collection.
  • Animal Protection Index ranks countries on their commitment to protect animals in their legislation, improve animal welfare and recognize animal sentience. (World Animal Protection)
  • World Animal Net has numerous resources for anyone interested in animal protection legislation, with model language on everything from government structures to cruelty to enforcement
  • Model Laws offers suggested language that can serve as templates for drafting animal protection legislation. (Animal Law Resource Center)

Law enforcement

  • Police and Dog Encounters: Tactical Strategies and Effective Tools to Keep Our Communities Safe and Humane, a series of training videos and The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters, a manual, were created for police officers and law enforcement personnel by the U.S. Department of Justice and are available for free download in English and Spanish from the National Canine Research Council.

Animal cruelty issues

Humane Society International

Humane Education

  • Humane Education, an overview covering the definition of humane education, its importance and how to implement a humane education program. (World Animal Net)

Humane education curricula

  • Protecting Our Tomorrows: A Teacher’s Role in Promoting Child Safety and Animal Welfare, a teacher-training program. (Humane Society International)
  • The following manuals can be used as part of a humane education program to provide training to schoolteachers.
    Facilitator’s manual for teacher training: Protecting Our Tomorrows: A Teacher’s Role in Promoting Child Safety and Animal Welfare (with notes to guide the training session).
  • Teacher/participant’s manual for Protecting Our Tomorrows: A Teacher’s Role in Promoting Child Safety and Animal Welfare.
  • Sample lesson plans for teachers for Protecting Our Tomorrows: A Teacher’s Role in Promoting Child Safety and Animal Welfare.
  • Teaching and outreach materials about rabies in multiple languages to help communities, including children, understand the risks and how to stay safe. (Global Alliance for Rabies Control)

Humane education materials

  • 5 Tips to Prevent Dog Bites education package. (World Health Organization, Global Alliance for Rabies Control and World Animal Protection)

Humane Society International

The International Companion Animal Management (ICAM) Coalition, of which Humane Society International is a member, has practical tools on how to manage dog and cat populations in the most humane, effective and resource-efficient way possible. These documents  are intended for use by any government body or non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in the management of dog and cat populations.

 

 

Spay/Neuter

 

Rabies

  • Online library of rabies control educational material in many languages. (Global Alliance for Rabies Control

Humane Society International

Humane Society International

Communications

Community Engagement

  • There are a number of resources, including case studies and articles, regarding community engagement and human behavior change on the website of Human Behaviour Change for Animals.

Humane Society International / Mexico

HSI

Mexico City—To mark World Spay Day, teams of volunteer veterinarians spayed and neutered 531 cats free of charge in Mexico City. The campaign was executed at local veterinary clinic Cemegatos with support from Humane Society International/Mexico. This is the first time the campaign surpases the 500 cats benchmark. The campaign ran Feb. 21 to Feb. 24 and involved 21 veterinarians and over 30 volunteers.

Dr. Claudia Edwards, DVM, HSI/Mexico programs director, said: “Spay-neutering is critical to address the street cats problem. People often misunderstand cats and have prejudices against them, but they are the most extraordinary pets. Cats need to be included in humane population control campaigns accessible to people without the means to pay for this service.”

World Spay Day reminds us of the power of affordable, accessible spay/neuter services to save the lives of companion animals, community (feral and stray) cats and street dogs who might otherwise be put down in shelters or killed on the street. Spay/neuter is also adviseable for pets to keep them healthy and to avoid unwanted offspring. Mexico has an acute street cat and dog problem, with an estimated 23 million free roaming cats and dogs.

Media contact: Magaly Garibay, (+52 55) 5211 8731, ext. 104, mgaribay@idee.agency

Humane Society International

Dog meat trader's truck in China
Adam Parascandola/HSI

The dog and cat meat trade in China

Globally, an estimated 30 million dogs and 10 million cats are slaughtered annually for human consumption. Of these, approximately 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are killed each year in China alone. A significant portion of the dog and cat meat trade in China is linked to criminal activity, with many animals are stolen pets and strays taken from backyards and streets. The journey to slaughterhouses entails cramming these animals into wire cages and transporting them for hours or days, with many suffering from dehydration, injuries, suffocation and heatstroke, and some dying before arrival.

Despite these atrocities, eating dog and cat meat is not widespread in China. The majority of the population does not consume it, and of the 20% who do, many have only tried it once or twice in their lifetime. Dog meat consumption primarily occurs in three regions: South China, Central China and Northeast China, although dogs and cats are taken from all over the country for the trade.

Supporting Chinese animal groups

HSI partners with Vshine, a well-respected animal protection organization in North China. Vshine operates two shelters for dogs, cats and other animals, including those rescued from the meat trade. Through Vshine’s extensive network of partner groups and shelters, we amplify efforts to combat the dog and cat meat trade across multiple regions of China. Our strategy includes supporting Chinese animal protection groups that are campaigning, conducting public education and hands-on rescue operations, with the goal of bringing an end to the dog and cat meat trade.

Rescue efforts

For over a decade, HSI has supported the rescue of thousands of dogs and cats from the meat trade through our partnerships with Chinese activists, including Vshine. Chinese activists liaise with local police to pull over trucks illegally trafficking dogs and cats on their way to slaughter, and work with law enforcement when illegal dog slaughterhouses are discovered. These animals are largely illegally acquired and illegally transported across provincial borders without the required paperwork. After being confiscated, animals are brought to Vshine’s shelter, where HSI support helps provide lifesaving medical care, food and rehabilitation, until the dogs and cats find loving homes locally.

Yulin festival

Although dog markets and slaughterhouses exist across China, the slaughter of dogs and cats during the annual summer solstice event in Yulin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has become a symbol of the immense cruelty of the trade that sadly takes place every day. Initially launched in 2010 by local traders to boost declining sales, the event has faced widespread national and international outrage. Though marketed as a local “festival,” 72% of Yulin’s residents do not regularly consume dog meat. Thanks to efforts by HSI and partner groups, the scale of the event has diminished in recent years. Public displays of slaughter have been restricted, and authorities have cracked down on dog meat advertisements, signaling progress in the fight against the trade.

Legal and legislative progress

Several countries and regions across Asia, including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and parts of Indonesia, have already banned dog meat consumption. Ending the trade in China is a realistic goal, although progress has been slow. Notably, in 2020, the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai implemented bans on dog and cat meat consumption, and China’s Ministry of Agriculture officially reclassified dogs as companion animals rather than livestock. Local Chinese animal welfare groups continue to advocate for nationwide legislation to ban the dog and cat meat trade. In the future, there is hope that the National People’s Congress will introduce animal welfare laws that will help to bring an end to this trade.

HSI’s partnership with Vshine

Under China’s 2017 Foreign NGO Law, foreign NGOs like HSI must register with the Chinese government and partner with a local organization to operate within the country. Vshine serves as HSI’s official partner, with an active presence throughout China. HSI continues to support Vshine’s campaigns and rescue and advocacy efforts that raise global awareness about the ongoing plight of animals in China caught in this cruel trade.

Humane Society International

Rescued from a dog meat farm
Frank Loftus/The HSUS

Update: On January 9, 2024, South Korea’s National Assembly voted through a ban on the dog meat industry, making the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs and dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027.

The dog meat industry in South Korea

In South Korea, dogs are intensively farmed for human consumption, often kept in appalling conditions. They are only provided with minimal food and water, housed outdoors in small cages without protection from the scorching summers or freezing winters. Many dogs suffer from disease and malnutrition, enduring daily neglect. The methods used to kill them are exceptionally cruel, with electrocution being the most common practice.

Rescued from a dog meat market
Jean Chung

However, the majority of South Koreans do not regularly eat dog meat. It is primarily consumed by older men, who hold the mistaken belief that it offers health benefits. Dog meat is traditionally eaten as a soup called boshintang, which some believe invigorates the blood and combats lethargy, or as gaesoju, a tonic sold in traditional medicine shops. Consumption of dog meat is most common during the summer months, especially during Bok Nal, the three hottest days between July and August, when 70 to 80 percent of dog meat is eaten.

Agreeing to shut down a dog meat farm
Jean Chung

Models for Change: Closing dog meat farms

HSI works collaboratively with dog meat farmers who wish to leave the industry but lack the resources to do so. We sign legally binding contracts with farmers, committing them to permanently close their operations. The dogs are voluntarily handed over to HSI. HSI also supports the farmers in transitioning to more humane and profitable businesses, such as medicinal herb or fruit and vegetable farming. This cooperative approach has helped HSI demonstrate to the South Korean government that the dog meat industry can be phased out with farmer participation rather than opposition.

Since 2015, HSI has worked directly in South Korea to shut down 18 dog meat farms and rescue more than 2,500 dogs who have found loving homes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. A small number have found homes in South Korea.

These closures are a vital part of HSI’s broader strategy, which ultimately led to legislative action being taken aimed at phasing out dog meat farming in South Korea by 2027.

Dog rescued from a dog meat farm
Jean Chung

Our broader campaign

HSI/Korea works on the ground with local organizations and activists to create culturally sensitive solutions that will change public perceptions. Many people in South Korea love and keep pet dogs. However, there is a misconception held by some that “meat dogs” are different from “pet dogs.” We are slowly changing this perspective by showcasing countless adoptions of former “meat dogs” into loving families. Our campaign shows the public that all dogs suffer in the same ways and are all deserving of love. Another goal of our campaign is to encourage pet adoption. At present, there is insufficient widespread acceptance of dog adoption and shelters in South Korea are overcrowded.

Korea dog meat protest
Michael Bernard/HSI

Progress

After almost a decade of campaigning by HSI/Korea and local groups, on January 9, 2024, South Korea’s National Assembly passed legislation banning the dog meat industry. This law, set to take full effect in 2027, makes the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs for human consumption illegal. During the phase-out period leading up to 2027, HSI/South Korea will continue its work on the dog meat trade focusing its efforts on increasing public support for the ban, advising the government on dog welfare in relation to the dogs still on the farms, and conducting dog rescues to help highlight the ongoing plight of animals still trapped in this cruel industry.

Humane Society International

Washington D.C. – The latest rescue mission by animal charity Humane Society International is shining a horrifying spotlight on the long-suspected connection between South Korea’s puppy pet trade and the dog meat industry. In a country where dog meat traders go to some lengths to persuade increasingly reluctant consumers that dogs bred for meat are somehow different from their beloved pet dogs at home, HSI’s rescue of nearly 200 Chihuahuas, corgis, huskies, jindos, Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Pomeranians, shih tzus, and French bulldogs from a squalid breeding facility in Hongseong that housed pups under heat lamps in disused tyres, will create shock waves.

Although HSI has found all sizes and breeds of dogs at its previous thirteen dog meat farm closures, this is the first time the charity has discovered a facility where puppies being born for the pet trade were being bred alongside others destined to be electrocuted and butchered for meat to supply local restaurants. Any pups unable to be sold as pets could also end up at the slaughterhouse.

Sixty-year-old Farmer Lee who ran the farm for eight years is eager to leave his dog breeding days behind him. His business is increasingly unprofitable as fewer people in South Korea wish to eat dogs, and selling pups at pet auctions has become competitive; his own family strongly opposes his profession. Mr Lee says he feels ashamed to be a dog farmer, but had no way out until he was introduced to HSI’s dog farm closure scheme by a former farmer with whom HSI had worked. Once HSI closes his farm and removes the dogs for rehoming, Mr Lee hopes to become a security guard with the help of financing provided by HSI for him to take a computer literacy training course.

Farmer Lee said: “From the very beginning, my entire family has been against my dog farming. All my daughters and my wife want me to close it, and they have never wanted to visit the farm. I feel very ashamed to be a dog meat farmer and a puppy mill farmer so I barely tell anyone what I’m doing. My business is also making no money now and it’s too hard to farm the dogs as I have back pain. Also, I’ve had a hard time with my neighbor complaining about the barking which meant I had to move my farm. I spend more money on this farm than I make from it. I think dog meat trade will die soon. I feel like it’s already ending.”

HSI works in partnership with dog farmers to rescue their dogs and transition their businesses to alternative, humane and more profitable enterprises such as crop growing or service trades. Following the closure of this farm, the cages will be demolished and no animals will suffer again on this property. A 20-year contract has been signed by the farmer that ensures he will stay out of the dog meat and any other animal related industry. HSI follows up regularly to ensure compliance among all past farmers. As political and public momentum to end the dog meat trade grows within South Korea, HSI hopes its program will demonstrate a phase-out model that can one day be adopted nationwide with state support.

Nara Kim, HSI/Korea’s dog meat campaigner says: “The lines between puppy mills and dog meat farms are routinely blurred throughout South Korea, and with our latest dog farm closure we are exposing the shocking reality of that. These dogs are suffering at the hands of two abusive industries, their ultimate fate depending on whether they will sell for more money as a pet or for meat. They all start life in this depressing, squalid place, with the lucky few ending up being a loved companion whilst their cage mates are served at a restaurant or enter a chain of auctions where they are sold on to the next farmer to produce litter after litter of puppies. Korean consumers will be shocked to see that the dog meat they buy in restaurants or from markets could come from the very same dogs they see in the pet shop window. No matter where the dogs go, the conditions at this farm are horrifying. The emaciated dogs have matted fur and untreated wounds. We found them cowering in rusty cages as they endure the bitter cold of the Korean winter. It is an immense relief to be able to rescue them and fly them to North America where we can work with partner organizations and begin their search for adoptive families. For them the nightmare is over, and we hope that by exposing their suffering we can hasten the end of the entire industry for good.”

In addition to the nearly 200 dogs, HSI/Korea is also rescuing three pigs who live on Mr Lee’s farm. Named by HSI, Mable, Martha and Maggie are mini-pigs originally bred for the pet trade, but at 50 kg in weight and growing, they were highly unlikely to find happy homes, and faced an uncertain future. As HSI’s legal contract with dog farmers obliges them to transition to strictly animal-friendly livelihoods, the pigs will shortly be starting a new life being cared for at a sanctuary being established with HSI’s partner group KARA.

Dog meat consumption is declining rapidly in South Korea, particularly among younger generations, with a survey by Gallup Korea in June 2018 showing that 70 percent of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in future. A series of recent moves by authorities to curb the dog meat trade reflects how Korean society is increasingly ill at ease with the industry. In November last year, HSI/Korea assisted Seongnam City Council in shutting down Taepyeong, the largest dog slaughterhouse in the country, which is to be replaced with a community park.

Facts:

  • More than 2.5 million dogs a year are reared on thousands of dog meat farms across South Korea.
  • Most people in South Korea don’t regularly eat dog, but it remains popular during the Bok days of summer in July and August, when it is eaten as a soup called bosintang.
  • Dogs are mainly killed by electrocution, taking up to five minutes to die. Hanging is also practiced.
  • The dog meat industry is in legal limbo in South Korea, neither legal nor illegal. Many provisions of the Animal Protection Act are routinely breached, such as the ban on killing animals in a brutal way including hanging by the neck, and on killing them in public areas or in front of other animals of the same species.
  • At each dog meat farm closure, HSI has a veterinarian test for the presence of the H3N2, or dog flu, virus at the time the dogs receive their rabies, DHPP, and corona virus vaccines. HSI also vaccinates the dogs for distemper, parvo and coronavirus. HSI then quarantines the dogs on the farm or at a temporary shelter with no dogs permitted in or out for at least 30 days prior to transport overseas.

Download b-roll video and photos of the rescue here.

ENDS

Media contact:

United Kingdom: Wendy Higgins: whiggins@hsi.org, +44 (0)7989 972 423

South Korea: Nara Kim, nkim@hsi.org

Majority of pups to find loving homes in Canada

Humane Society International / Canada

MONTREAL – Humane Society International/Canada is shining a global spotlight on the connection between South Korea’s cruel puppy mill trade and the dog meat industry by helping to rescue 200 dogs and puppies from a horrendous dog meat farm. Approximately 160 dogs are bound for Canada where they will be temporarily sheltered in Cambridge, Ontario, with some destined for Montreal where they will be rehabilitated at HSI/Canada’s emergency shelter.

This is HSI’s 14th dog meat farm closure in South Korea. The facility doubled as a puppy mill, with the dogs being sold as pets or for slaughter depending on where the greatest profits could be found. As a result, many of the dogs are small breeds such as Chihuahuas, corgis, Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Pomeranians, shih tzus and French bulldogs.

Ewa Demianowicz, senior campaign manager for HSI/Canada, said: “These dogs have been surviving in appalling conditions, in barren, filthy cages, with inadequate food and water and almost no veterinary care or human contact. Sadly, it is likely that many never left the cramped cages they have been confined in. It is heartbreaking to imagine how much they have suffered in their lives. Our team is eager to see these wonderful dogs leave this horrible place and arrive in Canada to get the love and care that they need.

HSI works with farmers who want to leave the dog meat trade by transitioning them to more humane industries, rescuing the dogs and closing the facilities. In turn, the owners sign contracts stating they will not return to the dog meat trade. The owner of the facility is eager to leave his business as his family disapproves and it is becoming less profitable.

Dog meat consumption is declining rapidly in South Korea, particularly among younger generations, with a survey by Gallup Korea in June 2018 showing that 70 percent of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in future. A series of recent moves by authorities to curb the dog meat trade reflects how Korean society is increasingly ill at ease with the industry. In November 2018, in Seongnam City, HSI/Canada participated in shutting down Taepyeong, the largest dog slaughterhouse in the country. As political and public momentum to end the dog meat trade grows within South Korea, HSI hopes its program will demonstrate a phase-out model that can one day be adopted nationwide with state support.

    Facts:

  • More than 2.5 million dogs a year are reared on thousands of dog meat farms across South Korea.
  • Most people in South Korea don’t regularly eat dog, but it remains popular during the Bok days of summer in July and August, when it is eaten as a soup called bosintang.
  • Dogs are mainly killed by electrocution, taking up to five minutes to die. Hanging is also practiced.
  • The dog meat industry is in legal limbo in South Korea, neither legal nor illegal. Many provisions of the Animal Protection Act are routinely breached, such as the ban on killing animals in a brutal way including hanging by the neck, and on killing them in public areas or in front of other animals of the same species.

Download b-roll video and photos of the rescue by clicking here.

Media Contact: Christopher Paré, Director of Communications – Office: 514 395-2914 x 206 / cell: 438 402-0643 / email: cpare@hsi.org

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