We have had the following letter from Lesley at ‘Eyes on Animals’ in the Netherlands. Please support this campaign issue by sending the letter to all contacts given below.
Thanks – SAV.
Eyes on Animals = http://eyesonanimals.com/
http://eyesonanimals.com/index.php?id=4
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Dear all,
Thanks to Twyla from CETFA drawing my attention to this, I watched photos and footage today on the website of KARA (Korean Animal Rights Advocates) showing the methods the Korean government is presently using to kill over one million farm-animals due to disease outbreaks. The animals are undergoing torture by being buried alive. I found it extremely disturbing to watch, and feel we must try to do something. I know everyone is busy, but this may make a difference- please will you read the following?
Since the announcement of a case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in South Korea in late November 2010, more than one million cloven-hoofed animals have been ‘culled’ in the most horrific manner. Massive numbers of live pigs (as well as cows, sheep, goats, and deer) have been pushed into trenches and buried. And the inhumane killings continue to this day.
A Korean animal protection organization reports the sight of pigs trying to escape from the trenches, being ‘killed with excavators by being crushed, hit and having their heads split open by the blades’. Facing a similarly cruel fate, baby pigs were left to suffocate to death after being put alive into bags and buried. The treatment of farm animals during this outbreak is so violent that the South Korean government is now forced to offer therapy to help workers traumatised by their participation in the live burials.
While the Korean government has recently finally started conducting mass vaccination of cattle and pigs to help deal with the FMD outbreak, the cruel killing of animals continues, as more cases of foot-and-mouth disease are announced and the high numbers of vaccines needed is taking time to secure. In addition, avian influenza has started to strike in chicken and duck farms of the South-West part of the country, and the South Korean government is responding by also burying chickens and ducks alive. It is estimated that more than 2,700,000 birds have already been killed in this horrific manner.
Please could everyone write a polite email to the following people?
Please use the sample letter below if required; or copy this and personalise.
To save time, you can write one version and send it away to all 4 people below at once. I know we are all busy, so it need not be long, what counts is that they hear our voices. (Please note that there is no Dutch Ambassador to South Korea, so we can send our emails to any European country. Example given are for German and French ambassadors.
German Ambassador to South Korea: koremb-ge@mofat.go.kr
French Ambassador to South Korea: koremb-fr@mofat.go.kr
South Korea Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Yoo Jeongbok: master@mifaff.go.kr
OIE Delegate of South Korea, Dr Koyoon Chang: rr.asiapacific@oie.int
In addition to denouncing the outrageous cruelty involved in the culling, please request an immediate stop to the burying of live animals. Remind the Ambassador that South Korea is a member of OIE (Office International des Epizooties), and that, based on the OIE Guidelines the welfare of animals must be ensured until they are dead. The live burial of animals is thus against the international guidelines that South Korea agreed to abide by, and any killing of animals, if unavoidable, must be conducted in strict accordance with the international animal welfare guidelines of the OIE.
While the primary cause of such outbreaks lies in the conditions food animals are forcibly raised in, and the ultimate solution is to put a stop to factory farming, it is important to address the handling of animals in such cases to make sure that the least cruel protocols possible are being used.
It is wonderful that you have taken the time to do this, thank-you,
Lesley and everyone at Eyes on Animals
Lesley Moffat, MSc Ethology
Eyes on Animals
Coordinator and inspector
*** SAMPLE LETTER –
Copy and send or copy, personalise and send ***
Topic: The mass slaughter of farm animals in South Korea in a most horrific manner since the announcement of a case of foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD) in late November 2010 which was brought to my attention by Eyes on Animals (lesley@eyesonanimals.com), a Dutch based organisation.
To: South Korea Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Mr. Yoo Jeongbok, OIE Delegate of South Korea, Dr. Koyoon Chang:
I wish, personally, to bring attention to the above mentioned individuals and organizations residing in South Korea, the methods the South Korean government is presently using to kill over on million farm animals due to disease outbreaks:
1. More than one million clover-hoofed animals have been and continue to be culled. Live pigs, cows, sheep, goats and deer have been and continue to be pushed into trenches and buried.
2. A Korean animal protection organization: see website from KARA (Korean Animal Rights Advocates) reports the sight of pigs, trying to escape from the trenches, being killed with excavators by being crushed, hit and having their heads split open by the blades. The South Korean government is now forced to offer therapy to help workers traumatized by their participation in these live burials.
3. While the South Korean government has recently started mass vaccination of cattle and pigs in dealing with the FMD outbreak, this above mentioned cruelty to animals continues.
4. In addition, avian influenza has started to strike in chicken and duck farms of the south-west part of the country. The South Korean government is responding by likewise burying chickens and ducks alive. It is estimated that more than 2,700.000 birds have been killed in this horrific manner.
I, myself, wish to personally request the immediate stop to the burying of live animals. In particular, I would like to mention that South Korea is a member of OIE (Office International des Epizooties). Based on the OIE Guidelines, the welfare of animals must be ensured until their death. Thus, the live burial of animals is against the international guidelines which South Korea agreed to abide by, and that any killing of animals, if unavoidable, must be conducted in strict accordance with the international animal welfare guidelines of the OIE.
With concern for these cruel and unnecessary practices in culling animals,
Name:
Nationality:
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Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering) | Leave a comment »
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