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| Animal rights activists rally in central Seoul Sunday to protest Korea's dog-eating practice. / Yonhap |
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| Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hold a protest against Canada Goose, a Canadian maker of padded jackets, in central Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
Animal rights activists are boycotting the PyeongChang Olympics in Korea over the country's "cruel" dog meat industry, urging others to join the campaign.
Activists have already mailed a petition containing more than 450,000 signatures to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Korea's President Moon Jae-in.
Now they are trying to contact athletes participating in the Games through social media to collect their voices for the movement.
"I have personally received responses from two athletes and they were sympathetic to our cause," Giny Woo, a Korean-American who leads the campaign, told The Korea Times. "We don't know exactly how many athletes have responded in total, but many of our supporters are trying to contact them.
"If these athletes can speak out against the dog and cat meat cruelty in any ways that they can, it will help to shine a spotlight on this very important and urgent issue."
In response to their petition, the IOC said: "We do not have a mandate to impose measures on sovereign states."
Cheong Wa Dae has not yet responded.
Woo claimed dogs and cats here are being brutally tortured and eaten. "If Korea wants to be respected in the world, this atrocity must end immediately and the country has to save them from unimaginable suffering," she said.
Campaigners are trying to put pressure on the Korean government to take steps to end such practice. "We will continue to campaign even after the Olympics," she said.
Meanwhile, animal rights groups based in Korea have staged protests in Seoul before the Olympics, which run from Feb. 9 to 25.
Many groups, including the Animal Liberation Wave (ALW) and the Korea Association for Animal Protection (KAAP), rallied at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul over the past few days.
"The government has long turned a blind eye to the issue. It's time to take action," the ALW said during its rally Wednesday.
KAAP members also urged the government to ban the dog meat trade, saying "it would be more helpful to improve the country's global image than hosting the Olympics."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an American animal rights organization, also caught the attention of many people in Seoul with their protest against Canada Goose, a Canadian maker of padded jackets.
They protested the use of fur and down in the products. According to PETA, animals such as coyotes and geese are treated cruelly during the production process.
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