Football Stars Demand End To Torture Of Dogs And Cats In Korea

For Immediate Release:
21 February 2002

Contact:
Dawn Carr – 0776 857 1678

London — Michael Owen, Jamie Redknapp and Emile HeskyScottish have clashed with the president of South Korea over the torture of dogs and cats in his country. The Liverpool players join a growing list of celebrities who’ve signed PETA’s petition imploring the host country of this year’s World Cup to put an end to the hanging, beating, burning and boiling alive of dogs and cats before they are slaughtered and eaten. On a petition to President Kim Dae-jung, Owen, Redknapp and Hesky wrote, ‘We respectfully urge the government of South Korea to ensure that cats and dogs receive full protection from intentional cruelty and torture.’

FIFA president Joseph Blatter, head of the international organisation coordinating the World Cup finals scheduled to take place in South Korea later this year, appealed to the Korean government to take  ‘immediate and decisive measures to put an immediate end to this cruelty’. Both Owen and Hesky are sure bets to make the England team that will play in the tournament.

Before dogs are eaten, they are often strung up and beaten, causing an adrenaline flow that flesh-peddlers claim increases male virility. Then they are burned about their bodies, purportedly to improve their flavour. Cats are thrown alive into boiling water to extract their ‘juice’ for use in tonics. The animals are kept in tiny, filthy cages for prolonged periods prior to their awful deaths.

Undercover video footage of cats and dogs being killed in Korea, as well as a copy of the petition, is available.