MONTREAL -- A few days ago, two dozen dogs were heading towards slaughter on a farm halfway around the world.
Now, they’re on their way to Montreal to be adopted into families. The 25 dogs are being flown from South Korea by the Humane Society, the latest in the organization’s effort to shut down dog farms.
Seventeen of the farms have been shut, and 500 such dogs and puppies have already been adopted by Montrealers.
Most South Koreans agree with the Humane Society’s cause: while the country has a history of using dog meat as food, very few people there still do so. And about 60 per cent of South Koreans support a legislative ban on dog farming.
However, that doesn’t make it easy to shut down the farms themselves, since that involves finding economic alternatives.
“We have this model that shows how we can transition farmers into a different livelihood and help the dogs that are currently kept on farms by rescuing them and placing them into families,” said Ewa Demianowicz of the Canadian branch of Humane Society International.
Together with South Korean animal-rights activists, part of a “huge movement” there, she says, they create ways for farm owners to get training to work in agriculture or other industries.
The newest batch of rescued dogs will be available for adoption in Montreal soon.
