Dogs rescued from South Korean meat trade arrive in Broward County

200 dogs rescued in latest dog farm closure

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ A group of dogs that was rescued by the Humane Society International from a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea, arrived in Broward County on Thursday.

Six animal shelters in Florida picked up the dogs in Vero Beach and took them back to their facilities to be placed up for adoption.

The Humane Society of Broward County picked up 10 dogs Thursday and will put the pups up for adoption after their medical examinations.

Staff hope to have the dogs available by the weekend.

"It was a very long trip for these dogs," Cherie Wachter, of the Humane Society of Broward County, said. "They traveled over 18 hours of flight time and made over a 12,000-mile journey to find homes here in South Florida."

In a news release, the Humane Society of Broward County said HSI has been in South Korea since December 2014 and has successfully made agreements with six dog-meat farmers for permanent closure of their farms.

A total of 770 dogs have been rescued and taken overseas to be placed in homes.

HSI helped each of the farmers transition into other businesses, such as crop-growing and scrap metal salvage.

The most recent farm closure happened this month in Gangwon province, where 200 dogs were rescued from a farm.

"It is very hard to comprehend, especially when you are an animal lover," Wachter said.

HSI officials said the farm owner's daughter convinced her to give up the business and transition into another line of work.

The 200 rescued dogs are being placed in 17 shelters throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

According to HSI, South Korea is the only country in the world known to raise dogs on farming facilities solely for the dog meat trade.

It's unclear how many dog farms are in South Korea, but it is estimated that between 2 million and 2.5 million dogs are slaughtered each year in the country for human consumption.


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Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.