A man living in Las Vegas works with Humane Society International to shut down dog meat farms in South Korea.
Adam Parascandola has worked with different branches of Humane Society for many years but his latest project is with Humane Society International.
Parascandola goes over to South Korea with a team of people about six times a year to shut down the dog meat farms.
Their goal is to end the dog meat trade.
"What we see on these farms is pretty atrocious," said Parascandola.
The dogs are kept in wire cages with no flooring. That way, the dogs can relieve themselves inside the cage and no one has to let them out to go. They have no stimulation or interaction with humans for the most part. They are crammed in with four or five other dogs usually. They are given no water and they receive one meal a day. The meal is usually restaurant waste that Parascandola and his team call "slop".
Parascandola and his team negotiate with the dog meat farmers before taking any action.
They make sure the farmers are sincere about wanting to get out of the business. They do put in legal restrictions and ask the farmers to sign documents about not getting back into the trade but their best chance of success if working with the ones that really want to get out.
"Most of these farmers would prefer to do something else," said Parascandola. "This isn't a job that most people want to be in. Many of them started even breeding dogs as pets."
Parascandola and his team even help the dog meat farmers find other jobs.
So far, the team has shut down 12 dog meat farms in three years. They've saved about 1,300 dogs. They ship most of the dogs to the United States and Canada to be put up for adoption.
Their work is admirable but only scratching the surface due to the 17,000 registered dog meat farms they would like to see close.
"They have a tremendous ability to overcome," said Parascandola. "Even when you're on the farms, you can see the desire the dogs have to bond with people. At this point in their evolution, this is engrained into dogs."
Parascandola says the hardest part is meeting the dogs and not being able to rescue them right away. He wishes the dogs would understand they would be back in a few weeks to pull them from their misery.
If you want to learn more about the dog meat trade or even help donate to the team so they can rescue more dogs, just click here.
Parascandola will be going back to South Korea in the beginning of June.
