A petition from Lady Freethinker and Save Korean Dogs to close more than 250 illegal dog meat farms in Ganghwa Island County (part of Incheon City), South Korea, has reached Governor Yoo Cheon Ho.

More than 30,000 of you signed the petition to urge the governor to enforce S. Korea’s laws and close down these cruel facilities, saving innocent animals from a horrific death.

Across Ganghwa Island County, helpless animals are crammed into tiny metal cages before their captors brutally kill them by electrocution, hanging, beating, or even boiling them alive. These farms operate in direct violation of S. Korea’s waste management, environmental and animal protection laws and must be shut down.

Meanwhile, public sentiment seems to be in our favor. Ganghwa Island County residents, many of whom are wealthy retirees with second homes, have reportedly complained about incessant dog barking and the smell of the neighboring illegal farms. And two weeks ago, when Save Korean Dogs founder Nami Kim met with the county’s livestock department, officials expressed strong interest in “Empty Cages,” which provides former owners of permanently closed dog meat farms pathways to launch alternative careers.

Recently, a similar petition was presented to the mayor of Gimpo, S. Korea, with more than 40,000 signatures. The mayor then pledged to take action to help the animals of the so-called “Valley of Dog Meat,” bringing us closer to ending their notorious farms for good. It is our hope to see similar progress in Ganghwa Island County.

We urge the governor to take swift action and enforce S. Korea’s laws and close all facilities that violate them. In the meantime, we will continue distributing petitions, running bus ads, and aiding the rescue of dogs from Korea’s meat trade until every dog meat farm is closed.