THIS BRINGS ME A MEMORY OF A LADY TO BE WITH YOU ASKED ME TO SACRIFICE A SAUSAGE DOG THAT WAS SICK distemper. I KNEW THE ANIMAL. My friend and played together. PROBRE WAS THE BAD, BEAUTIFUL HERA. EVEN TRY TO HELP WITH REIKI, BUT THERE WAS NO CASE. THIS REALLY makes me very sad. BROTHERS PEACE OF HEART

ALEJANDRO (MUN HYE)

For the latest situation, see here: http://animalrightskorea.org/news-articles/

FMD Cull Numbers as of January 30, 2011:

Total = 2,941,533 (5,216 farms)

Cattle = Cattle: 146,035 (3,497 farms)
Pigs = 2,788,437 (1,412 farms, 95% of the total culling and 28% of the total number of pigs raised in Korea as of December 2010.)
Goats: 4,431 (180 farms)
Deer: 2,650 (127 farms)

Number of cases: 146 in 64 cities and regions

Around 100,000 animals have been buried alive every day.

So, yes, the slaughter, and the live burials, seem to be still happening.

You know how this current situation?

In what way can help alleviate this situation?,

Thanks.

Alejandro

“The outbreak is the most serious in Korea’s history,” said Kim Jae-hong, a veterinary science professor at Seoul National University. “It is hard to predict when we can contain the spread of the disease, but the most important thing right now is to control movement in and out of the farmhouses that are affected, and thoroughly disinfect the cars around the area,” he added.

Vaccinations can work, but they’re almost so complex as to be useless for a quick responce:

“Vaccinations against the disease are available but…. must be matched to the specific type and subtype of virus causing the outbreak. In South Korea, officials are scrambling to vaccinate unaffected animals to prevent the further spread of the disease.”

EDIT: Here’s an article that claims preemptive vaccinations can work. Not sure how credible it is, but the writer lays out some alternative stratagies to just killing all the animals in the area.

Likewise, they are saying that the buried-alive incidents were few. If this is true, well, it’s not what I’d normally call good news, but at least there’s less suffering:

“Veterinarians and agriculture officials in some areas are also overwhelmed by the scale of the culls. Local media reported incidents of swine being buried alive to speed up the killing, and an agriculture ministry official on Tuesday confirmed some incidents but said they have been few.

‘Officials are rushed to stop the spread, and the number of people involved is too small for the operation,’ Mr. Kim said.”

The farmers involved are also suffering quite a bit.

The disease has damaged the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers, however. The government compensates farmers for livestock killed as a result of efforts to contain the disease, but farmers argue the pay isn’t enough.

Kim Hee-dong, a farmer in Pocheon, a small city northeast of Seoul, said authorities culled his 465 head of cattle on Dec. 30 and 31, then dug four large holes in his field to bury them.

“I just couldn’t watch it. But I was asked to go out briefly to check out the holes, whether they were all right, and had to witness about 100 head of my cattle lying dead,” he said. “I fainted at that moment and was taken to the hospital.”

I’d also really like to know if anyone knows whether vaccination is a viable alternative for hoof and mouth disease.

EDIT: Here’s a link to a story about a memorial service for the spirits of the animals held at the headquarters for the Jogye Order in Seoul. (Thanks to Adam at Fly Like a Crow for this link)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jZYgaja_h1ssTjfFIjLTG320dHVg?docId=5692901

Can you imagine the guys who are doing this work? I suspect it’s people who’ve been out of work for a while and lower-level government officials who’ve been shifted to deal with this crisis. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been expected to slaugher the animals by hand, ie knives. What a terrible job.