USA suusataja päästis ühe Korea kutsika, miljonid süüakse ikka ära

Gus Kenworthy Lõuna-Korea koeralihakasvatuses Foto: Ahn Young-joon/AP/Scanpix

Ameerika Ühendriikide nimekaim freestyle-suusataja Gus Kenworthy ei teeninud Pyeongchangi olümpiamängudel lisa oma ühele Sotšist võidetud hõbemedalile. Küll aga läheb mees koju väärt meenega – Kenworthy kodustas ühe Lõuna-Korea kutsika, kelle esialgne saatus oleks olnud lõpetada kellegi õhtusöögina.

Pargisõiduvõistlusel kindlalt finaali jõudnud, kuid seal mõlemas sõidus põrunud ja 12. kohal lõpetanud Kenworthy veetis pärast võistlust lõputseremooniani jäänud aega produktiivselt ja külastas üht hinnanguliselt 17 000 Lõuna-Korea koeralihakasvatusest.

«Mulle öeldi, et neid koeri hoiti võrreldes teiste kasvatustega heades tingimustes. Need koerad olid alatoidetud ja füüsiliselt ahistatud, topitud elama võrkpuuridesse ja jäetud elama jääkülmadesse talvistesse või lõõskavatesse suvistesse tingimustesse. Kui tuleb aeg nad magama panna, tehakse seda teiste koerte ees ja läbi elektrilöögi, mis võib võtta kuni 20 piinarikast minutit. Vaatamata mõningate inimeste arvamustele ei erine need koerad kuidagi neist, keda me kodus lemmikloomadeks kutsume,» on fragment Kenworthy sotsiaalmeediasse postitatud sõnumist.

 

This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea. Across the country there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don't personally agree with it, I do agree that it's not my place to impose western ideals on the people here. The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty. I was told that the dogs on this particular farm were kept in "good conditions" by comparison to other farms. The dogs here are malnourished and physically abused, crammed into tiny wire-floored pens, and exposed to the freezing winter elements and scorching summer conditions. When it comes time to put one down it is done so in front of the other dogs by means of electrocution sometimes taking up to 20 agonizing minutes. Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home. Some of them were even pets at one time and were stolen or found and sold into the dog meat trade. Luckily, this particular farm (thanks to the hard work of the Humane Society International and the cooperation of a farmer who's seen the error of his ways) is being permanently shut down and all 90 of the dogs here will be brought to the US and Canada where they'll find their fur-ever homes. I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she'll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she's through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks. I cannot wait to give her the best life possible! There are still millions of dogs here in need of help though (like the Great Pyrenees in the 2nd pic who was truly the sweetest dog ever). I'm hoping to use this visit as an opportunity to raise awareness to the inhumanity of the dog meat trade and the plight of dogs everywhere, including back home in the US where millions of dogs are in need of loving homes! Go to @hsiglobal's page to see how you can help. #dogsarefriendsnotfood #adoptdontshop ❤️

A post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on Feb 23, 2018 at 8:10am PST

That's why I wanna help! Most young Koreans ARE against it & bc farming dogs is a much smaller industry than other livestock there's an opportunity to make real change! I'm sorry if it seemed like I was judging Korean ppl. I'm not. I just wanna help end the dog abuse! @iamjoonlee https://t.co/xnpG67ntsE

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) February 24, 2018

Kenworthy ja tema poiss-sõber Matthew Wilkas, kes tegid olümpiamängudel otse-eetris jagatud suudlusega ajalugu, otsustasid ühele kohatud koera endale võtta – nimeks sai ta Beemo – ja ka ülejäänud 90 kõnealuses kasvanduses elavat koera saavad endale uue kodu Põhja-Ameerikas. Väidetavalt on Lõuna-Koreas aga kuni kaks ja pool miljonit koera, kelle saatuseks on lõpetada kellegi toidulaual.