The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin in South Korea in 3 days on Friday, February 9th. Mom has very mixed emotions on this and I’m going to explain and let you weigh in on this friends. Mom always tries to understand both sides and refrain from judging as best she can so she can offer you unbiased facts. I also believe you know by now that Mom is a huge proponent of animal welfare but this is one of those times where it’s simply not black and white.

I’m not sure if you will remember (I don’t because I wasn’t born yet!) but in 1988, Seoul was home to the Summer Olympics and in 2002, the FIFA World Cup. As they did back then and are again repeating, South Korea has imposed restrictions on certain dog meat markets to not display live dogs so as to not rub Olympic guests the wrong way and to ward off any international controversy. So in other words, if you don’t see it happening, it isn’t. It is well understood that eating dogs in South Korea does date back quite far but this is not to say it is a tradition! If you’ll remember my post on the Korean Catholic Church, dog eating began when food was scarce as a means for survival. South Korea is now one of the wealthiest countries in the world and certainly isn’t continuing to eat dogs because of their impoverished conditions! Dog Farming is a billion dollar industry there. They are driven by greed in an unregulated, tax-free sector, profiting off of the inhumane torture of man’s best friend. Over 17,000 dog meat farms with roughly 6 million dogs on them. Consuming 2.5-3 million annually in South Korea alone and yet, they organize another huge sporting event to have the “honor” of appearing there to boost the economy some more.

Here’s where Mom is at a cross-roads. These Olympic competitors have trained their whole lives leading up to this momentous life event. They are incredible athletes who deserve to compete and show their talents and skills. They had no idea that they may be going to a country where such brutality occurs on a daily basis. Yet, personally, Mom and I will be boycotting watching any part of the Olympics because we are aware of what is happening and Mom simply cannot support it. But is it fair that the Olympic athletes be punished for participating? Mom does not think so but does believe this was more of a political decision by those in authority to decide the location. The Summer Olympics will be in Japan where the Taiji Hunt and the mass slaughtering of dolphins occurs. Do we support this decision? Of course not, but do we expect the Olympic athletes to drop out? No. So what is the solution? Mom’s friend Ms. Giny – who I help campaign with in San Francisco – has offered on her site to petition the athletes directly and ask them to use their voices for the animals. Mom thinks this is a really great idea. It helps raise awareness tremendously and it is achievable. So if you have any interest, here is Ms. Giny’s link: http://koreandogs.org/pyeongchang2018-athletes/

There is always a way to make a difference friends – no act is ever too small to give a voice to an animal or person in need. Thank you for supporting me in my quest to raise awareness through facts and not images!