Hollywood stars and activists Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger recently protested with signs and real dead dogs in a confronting statement against the South Korean dog meat trade. The protest was said to be the largest in the world against the cause.
The pair stood with other activists outside of the Consulate General Of The Republic Of Korea. Basinger, who is 64 years old, attended with her partner Mitch Stone as well as Presley, 73, Donna D’Errico, 50, and EG Daily, 56, among other attendees.
The group held signs from non-profit animal rights organization Last Chance for Animals (LCA) that depicted dead and skinned dogs hanging from hooks. Other members, including D’Errico and Presley, wore white gloves and held dead dogs in their arms. The Blast reported that the “recently euthanized” animals were collected from a local veterinarian in Los Angeles. Their involvement was intended to shock onlookers and show that the dogs killed for meat in South Korea are just as loveable as family pets. The dogs will be “respectfully cremated” after the event.
The protest was one of three demonstrations held by LCA and its South Korean sister organization Animal Liberation Wave. The other two protests occurred in Washington DC and Seoul, South Korea.
The events were held on the first day of Bok Nal, known to be the hottest day of summer in Korea. On its website, LCA explained that the consumption of dog meat “rises exponentially” during Bok Nal as dog meat soup (“boshintang”) is often consumed to combat the heat. One owner of a boshintang restaurant said the number of diners triple at this time. Annually, one million dogs are killed in South Korea for food.
South Korea is the only country in the world to intensively breed dogs for human consumption, where dogs are legally considered companion animals and livestock. LCA is working to change this ruling so that dogs can no longer be defined as livestock.
Speaking to TMZ about the effectiveness of the protest, Basinger said, “You know, I have seen miracles happen when we get together in numbers, when you make it known to the public, I think everything is about education and awareness, I really do.”
