South Korea's dog meat industry is dividing the country as the younger generation defends the animals against tradition.
The leader of one of South Korea's leading animal rights groups has admitted to secretly euthanizing dogs that she had rescued from 'meat dog' farms despite raising millions of dollars on the premise of running 'no-kill shelters.'
“We had no other choice but to let go of some dogs,” Park So-youn, founder and president of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), told Dateline.
When asked why she lied, Park said she was afraid to tell the truth – that she put down dogs that she thought were too aggressive/sick/old/big to be adopted.
Park stands by her decision that euthanasia is necessary in certain circumstances, and that other welfare groups should follow.
In 2011, Park was slammed for killing dogs rescued by her shelter and donating the carcasses to Konkuk University College of Veterinary Medicine for student medical training. At the time, she vowed to stop.
However, the employee at CARE who tipped-off Dateline about the organisation’s secret euthanasia says Park organised for a veterinarian to euthanise more than 250 dogs since 2015, and that CARE had to pay more than 34 million won ($A42,000) to waste service companies to remove 5.7 tons of animal remains.
Despite now facing a number of criminal charges including embezzling the NGO’s money to hire a private attorney in 2017 and being slapped with a no travel ban by the Justice Department, Park says she “feel[s] much more relieved now” because this scandal has triggered a much-needed national conversation about animal welfare. Park stands by her decision that euthanasia is necessary in certain circumstances, and that other welfare groups should follow.
These are the secret cameras Dateline used to film inside Korea's guarded dog meat industry.
“I am also one of the people who believe euthanasia is a necessary evil,” the employee told Dateline.
“But it was wrong for Park to keep it a secret.”
The employee said they have lost faith in Park to lead CARE.
The employee added that CARE took in more rescue dogs than the organisation could care for, in part because Park could not resist the media spotlight when a rescue opportunity presented itself.
Jeon Jin-kyung, a director at Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), says Park is undermining the credibility of animal rights advocacy bodies and the move to ban dog meat consumption.
“We, NGOs, change the world with our firm principles and philosophies,” she said. “How can we demand dog meat farmers stop slaughtering dogs while insisting on euthanizing rescued dogs?”
Follow the story of a Korean meat dog rescuer as she seeks new homes for the animals she saves.
