Volunteers Flying Out of South Korea Wanted to Rescue Dogs from the Dog Meat Trade

NEW YORK, NY — Non-profits in the United States and South Korea are looking for volunteers to transport dogs rescued from the dog meat trade.

Passengers taking flights any time from Seoul to airports in the U.S., including Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (Dulles and IAD), are being encouraged to volunteer to fly dogs to their forever homes.

Volunteers would act as couriers for dogs saved from the dog meat trade. Four sweet dogs saved by In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue are currently waiting for a flight from Seoul to New York City.

Four of these rescued dogs, Moon Moon, Kia, and bonded sisters Thelma and Louise, are ready to go to families who are waiting for them, but they need someone to escort them on flights via Korean Air or Asiana Airlines from Incheon International Airport to JFK International Airport.

“These dogs have overcome so much, and we couldn’t be happier that they’re about to start new lives in the U.S., but being able to get them to their new homes has become a major hurdle. We hope more people will volunteer to help get them on their way. It doesn’t require anything but some extra time for travelers, and it means the world to these dogs,” said Patti Kim, President of Jindo Love Rescue.

Since partnering in 2017, In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love Rescue have rescued hundreds of dogs from South Korea’s dog meat trade and found them loving forever homes in the U.S. and Canada.

“Our efforts have been drastically hampered by shelter in place measures, a decreased number of travelers, canceled flights and travel bans as the world attempted to stop the spread of COVID-19. We rely on travelers who volunteer to bring dogs to North America from South Korea, but now dogs who have adopters waiting for them are still being left stuck without a flight. The cost of our Plan B option of flying dogs via cargo was increased significantly at the start of the pandemic, making it unaffordable — especially for large dogs — and now airports are increasingly requiring brokers to get through U.S. Customs, which is adding to the cost,” said Fleur Dawes, Communications Director for In Defense of Animals.

Not only are travel difficulties affecting dogs who are waiting to get to their new homes, it’s stifling rescuers’ ability to save more. Costs to care for dogs continue to mount every day they are delayed, and room isn’t opening up to allow for more dogs to come in.

Jindo Love Rescue and In Defense of Animals are currently caring for approximately 100 dogs at their foster center in Gimhae.

Just one traveler can save two lives, and volunteering to travel with a rescued dog doesn’t involve much more than allocating some extra time before departing and after arriving.

Jindo Love Rescue takes care of all the details, costs, and paperwork for customs beforehand, and adopters will be waiting when volunteer transporters land at their destination.

Interested parties should check www.idausa.org/flightvolunteer for more information on how to become a flight volunteer.

Contact: Fleur Dawes, media@idausa.org, 415-879-6879

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 38-year history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi.

Jindo Love Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving the

lives of dogs in South Korea. With the help of our team and volunteers, we rescue as many dogs as we can from terrible conditions in South Korea’s dog meat trade, puppy mills, as well as abandoned dogs. We look for perfect, loving homes to send these dogs to in the United States of America.