Listen to this show here!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Documentary Film-Maker James Hyams Exposes the South Korean Dog Meat Industry
Australian investigative journalist, James Hyams spent 2 years creating his 90 minute documentary “The Dog Meat Professionals” plus a dog meat expose, and a book on the same topic.
2.5 million dogs and thousands of cats are slaughtered each year in South Korea.
Forced to endure deprivation and unimaginable torture from the moment they are born until the day they are slaughtered, dogs are imprisoned in cramped, filthy, raised cages all their lives with no protection from extreme weather. They get no water, exercise, companionship or medical care, and they never feel the ground beneath their feet. Their eardrums are often burst to prevent them from barking.
In broad daylight, often in front of other live dogs, they are electrocuted, hanged, beaten, have their throats slashed, or are boiled or burnt to death. This is a profit-driven, tax free, unregulated industry that aggressively promotes the myth that eating a dog enhances male virility and stamina. Consumption peaks during the hottest days of summer (Boknal).
Koreans claim that the more a dog suffers, the better its meat is. So many dogs are sadistically made to experience extreme fear and suffering prior to death.
Film-maker James Hyams joins us for a discussion about the social and health costs associated with this industry, as well as the legal issues (eating dog meat is not legal in South Korea but the government and general public fail to enact this law.)