一人一信給韓國新任總統 李明博總統 敬致韓國總統李明博先生： 　　總統先生您好，首先恭喜您當選韓國新任總統！當舉世注目您上任後將推動的政經改革與政績表現時，我們同時聽到了一個令人擔憂震驚的消息──貴國的首都首爾市政府於今年3月24日，對外發表了「狗肉衛生管理政策」，將「狗」列為家畜項目！並預計在4月份韓國國會大選結束，於5月舉辦相關聽證程序後，隨即向中央政府提議修改「畜產品加工處理法」，正式立法將狗納入畜產食用項目。為此，貴國的動保團體也曾於3月25、26日集結在首爾市政廳前表達強烈抗議。 　　韓國的高科技產業和電子產品行銷全球，包括各種娛樂、飲食與旅遊產業在內的「韓流」，也增加亞洲各國人民對韓國的高度興趣，成為亞洲高文化和創意素質的表徵。然而，在亞洲和世界各國許多人都將狗視為同伴，如果貴國真的立法將狗列為「家畜」，這將會是全世界第一個「將狗肉合法化」的國家，您也將是世界上第一個將「狗」變成「肉用動物」的大統領！這將不僅傷害貴國—也會傷害全世界關心動物權益和生命教育理念發展的人士。 韓國的文化和創意水平，韓國的各種產品、觀光、娛樂節目，在我們心目中的地位和價值，也會大大的降低，甚至最後演變成為「反韓流」！ 　　狗就是狗，無論是生物學上或現實生活上，並沒有寵物犬、伴侶犬或是肉狗之分。台灣、香港、菲律賓、泰國等也都已立法禁吃狗肉。雖然在亞洲，仍有少數國家和地區的人民把狗肉當作食物，但平均而言，生活水平都遠不如韓國，迄今也沒有任何一個國家透過「國家法律」，將吃狗肉的行為「合法化」！ 　　人類飼養狗和貓作為夥伴，已至少有一萬兩千年以上的歷史，在過去2、30年來，人類動物互動科學（anthrozoology）並逐漸集結出共識：同伴動物對人類在心理和生理健康上具有貢獻，牠們可以給人類親密性和支持性，緩和人們慢性生活壓力對健康的負面影響，進而達到保護和對抗一些疾病。當代犯罪社會學也逐漸認知到，動物虐待和家庭、兒童暴力具有高度關連。一旦狗成為可以隨時宰殺成為肉用的動物，所帶來的社會和教育心理衝擊，將無法想像。 在人類社會文化的進程裡，人們不斷反省其在自然、萬物中的許多殘酷行為。在環保的議題中，「肉」已被指為高碳食物，畜牧業也是溫室效應氣體的主要來源。為了打造一個更為人道的社會，為了環境與生命的永續，身為地球公民的一份子，我們竭誠希望貴國政府千萬不要做出錯誤的決策。同時為此錯誤政策，而影響了貴國對外的經貿發展！此外，我們希望貴國政府能儘速立法禁吃狗肉，以提升韓國的動物福利。 Dear President Lee Myung-bak: Greetings, and first of all congratulations on becoming the new president of Korea! While people all around the world have been paying close attention to the political and economic reforms you are promoting and to your political performance and achievements, we have heard a worrying, shocking piece of news – on the 24th of March this year Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a “Dog Meat Hygiene Management Policy”, which lists dogs as “livestock”! And it is also expected that, that after Korea’s parliamentary elections end in April, and after holding a related hearing in May, a proposal will be made immediately to the Central Government to amend the “Livestock Products Processing Act”, officially legislating that dog meat be listed as a livestock product. Therefore, animal protection groups from your country gathered in front of Seoul City Hall on March 25th and 26th to protest. Korea’s hi-tech and electronic products are sold throughout the world, and the so-called “Korean Wave”, which includes all kinds of entertainment, food and tourism industries, has also greatly increased the interest of people all across Asia in Korea, helping characterize Korea as a country of great culture and originality. However, many people in Asia and the rest of the world see dogs as companions, and if you do indeed legislate that dogs are to be listed as “livestock”, this will make Korea the first country in the world to legalize dog meat consumption, and will make you the first national leader in the history of world to list dogs as “animals for consumption”! This will not only harm your country, it will also hurt all the people in the world who care about animal rights and humane society. Our perception of the status and value of Korean culture and creativity, and of all Korean products, tourism and entertainment programs will suffer a great negative impact, and this may even lead to an “Anti-Korean Wave”! Dogs are simply dogs, and no matter whether in biological theory or in real life, they are not divided into pet dogs, companion dogs and edible dogs. Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand have all already legally banned the consumption of dog meat. Although there are still a few countries and people in Asia who still consume dog meat, their living standards are, on average, far lower than those of Korea, and until now there has never been a country which has, through national law, legalized the act of eating dog meat! People have raised dogs and cats as companions for at least twelve thousand years, and in the last 20 or 30 years, “anthrozoology” has gradually brought about a consensus: companion animals bring psychological and physical benefits to humans. They can give humans intimacy and support, alleviate the negative health impacts of stress, and also enhance people’s ability to prevent and resist disease. Modern day Criminal Sociology is also drawing the conclusion that there is a high degree of correlation between cruelty to animals and domestic violence and child abuse. Once dogs become animals that can be freely butchered for their meat, there will be unimaginable negative social and educational impacts on public psychology. In the course of humanity, humans always reflect upon the many cruelties of nature. Amongst the issues of environmental protection, “meat” has already been labeled a high-carbon food, and livestock farming is a major source of greenhouse gases. In order to create a more humane society, and for the sake of the sustainability of environment & life, we as co-citizens of this planet hope with all sincerity that your government will under no circumstances make this mistaken decision, causing humanity take a step backwards, and at the same time impacting on Korea’s foreign trade development. In addition, we hope that your government can, as soon as possible, prohibit the consumption of dog meat, in order to enhance animal welfare in Korea. 署名Signature: 國家Country: 日期Date: