A new life for pooches raised to be lunch and dinner

11 January 2017 - 09:59 By Reuters
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OFF THE MENU: Two dogs from the dog-meat farm in Wonju wait to be transported to safety in the US
OFF THE MENU: Two dogs from the dog-meat farm in Wonju wait to be transported to safety in the US
Image: KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS

"You're OK, you're OK," Lola Webber, a campaigner at Humane Society International, whispers to a Labrador-cross puppy, cradling the creature in a jacket as dozens of dogs bark in nearby cages.

The puppy is moved from a rusty cage on a dog-meat farm in South Korea to a plastic crate, given the name Demi and placed in a truck where she begins the long journey to a shelter in Pittsburgh in the US to be put up for adoption.

"As soon as they're ready for adoption, we find that there are queues of people - literally people line up at shelters - in the US to adopt these dogs because people are so engaged by their sad and compelling stories," said Andrew Plumbly, another campaign manager for the society.

Demi was one of 10 dogs rescued from a farm in Wonju, 90km from Seoul - where 200 dogs were being raised for human consumption - to start new lives as pets under the society's campaign.

The farm is the sixth that the group has helped close down in South Korea since 2015 and follows six months of negotiations, medical examinations and vaccinations.

Because airline flights can carry only a limited number of dogs a day, it will take a couple of weeks to evacuate all 200 dogs.

The farm owner, who has been in the business for 30 years, declined to be identified. He cited poor health for closing the business.

Consumption of dog meat is on the decline in South Korea, where it is eaten mainly by older people.

Dogs are increasingly popular as pets. But the society estimates there are 17,000 dog-meat farms in the country.

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