Comment on DOS-2012-0061-0001

Document ID: DOS-2012-0061-0004
Document Type: Public Submission
Agency: Department Of State
Received Date: January 02 2013, at 05:15 PM Eastern Standard Time
Date Posted: January 15 2013, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
Comment Start Date: January 2 2013, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
Comment Due Date: January 21 2013, at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time
Tracking Number: 1jx-82vy-1kns
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THIS TRADE AGREEMENT IS NOT OK WITH THE CITIZENS OFTHIS COUNTRY. YOU DID NO PUBLIC INFORMATION COLLECTION ON THIS JUST MADE THIS STUPID AWFUL AGREEMENT WITH THIS BACKWARD COUINTRY WHICH HURTS AMERICA AND AMERICANS.By: Kyenan Kum Sep. 15, 2001 When I was a child growing up in South Korea, dog-eating was a fringe activity—like gambling or prostitution—that I knew existed, but had never witnessed. But one day my sister, Sunnan, happened upon a dog being beaten to death in a back alley. This, coupled with the poisoning deaths of our two family dogs, had a profound impact on us both, yet we naively assumed that these were isolated, unrelated incidents. I came to the United States as a young adult in 1970 to study art; Sunnan chose to remain in Korea. In 1986, I was taken aback when my sister called to tell me that a dog-meat industry was in full swing in Korea, and that not only were dogs being tortured and consumed, but so were cats. A new tonic, goyangi soju or "cat juice," was being marketed as a cure for rheumatism. Before the 1980s, cats were never consumed, so this news was particularly disturbing. At my sister's request, I returned to Korea to assist in an investigation of these horrendous activities, and to help establish the Korea Animal Protection Society (KAPS). What we have learned about the magnitude of this cruelty and suffering is astounding. Every year, 2.6 million dogs and countless cats are slaughtered and consumed in South Korea. Slaughter methods include hanging, electrocution, and beatings with pipes and hammers. Cats are often boiled alive, and dogs are routinely blowtorched to remove their fur and to brown their skin. The myth being perpetuated by dog- and cat-meat dealers is that the more pain suffered by these animals, the more tender and aphrodisiac the meat is. Dog-meat (boshintang) stew is not an ancient tradition, as these dealers claim; the commercial trade of dogs for consumption began in 1980, when a boom in the Korean economy made the

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