Humane Society International (HSI) recently rescued 149 dogs from a dog meat farm in South Korea. Many of those dogs will find their way to rescues and humane societies throughout the state of Wisconsin. The first 5 dogs of the bunch just arrived in Milwaukee. They were picked up from the airport in Chicago shortly after 9 am on Thursday, July 20.
Jennifer Smieja of the Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) is excited for the opportunity to help the dogs get healthy, socialized, and ready for adoption. Since the dogs were kept in tiny cages in deplorable conditions on the meat farm, they are likely to be unsure about new situations and nervous around people. In regards to their life before they were rescued, she said:
“They’re in small crates. They don’t get a lot of exercise. They don’t get a lot of time outside of their crate.”
This is the ninth dog meat farm that HSI has shut down since 2014. They’ve rescued over a thousand dogs so far – but about a million dogs a year are eaten every summer during the Bok Nal summer season in South Korea. The upcoming Winter Olympics are encouraging people to change, and HSI is working with dog meat farmers who want to get into other lines of work. According to Smieja:
“We’re working with the farmers and getting them away from meat production and more towards crops.”
To find out when the dogs are ready for adoption, you can visit the Facebook pages of the participating humane societies or Humane Society International.
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