Animals Asia has received information from Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) about the live burial of thousands of pigs in an attempt to control the spread of a foot and mouth disease outbreak in the Republic of Korea.

During outbreaks of diseases in farm animal, governments are under immense pressure to act quickly, to reduce the number of animals infected, the number of total farms infected and to protect public confidence and the domestic and international trade in meat. Plans are now in place for the slaughter of thousands of additional pigs through live burial in an attempt to halt the spread of this disease. Live burial causes severe welfare issues for animals prior to death.



Animals Asia recommends the government carry out a mass vaccination programme instead of a large scale cull. If more animals are to be killed we appeal to the Korean government to adopt humane, efficient culling methods to minimise the pain and distress to animals. The culling should be safe for both people and the environment and should be performed by trained and competent personnel. We appeal to the government to follow the World Organisation for Animals Health (OIE) international standards on humane killing of animals for disease control purposes.

We also respectfully request that the government adopt a comprehensive bio security plan, securing infected locations, separating infected /susceptible animals, restricting the movement of animals, limiting human access to animals and places holding animals, providing strict guidelines on the disinfection of clothing to be worn by people accessing animals, the disinfection of vehicles, and the provision of footbaths to minimise the risks of disease transmission.

Animals Asia has written to the Korean President, Chief Veterinary Officer, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister and Korean embassies globally, calling for the adoption of these measures as a matter of urgency. Please see a copy of our letter below.


What you can do

Please do all you can to encourage the Korean government to adopt a mass vaccination programme and if animals are to be killed to adopt the OIE international standards on humane killing of animals for disease control purposes.

Please write a polite letter to your Korean Ambassador and send it to the main embassy address in your country. Embassy addresses can be found here.

And please sign up now to our Animals Asia Action Team to receive email alerts when we need your support on specific animal-welfare issues.

Thank you for being a voice for the animals in Asia.

January 2011