Just in time for the holidays, a large pack of dogs destined for the slaughterhouse have arrived safely in Canada after a long journey from South Korea.
The 46 dogs finally landed at Toronto鈥檚 Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, after a delay due to Monday鈥檚 snowstorm. The animals were then transferred to different temporary shelters and rescue groups in Ontario and Quebec.
They are part of a larger group of more than 170 dogs that were rescued from a shuttered South Korean dog meat farm where they were kept in cages and severely neglected, CTV Montreal鈥檚 Max Harrold reported. The U.K. has also taken in some of the dogs saved from the farm.
It鈥檚 the 10th dog meat farm in South Korea to be closed by Humane Society International, which teaches the farmers new skills to succeed with different livelihoods, Harrold said.
Of the 46 dogs that arrived in Toronto, 16 of them arrived at the Montreal SPCA on Jean-Talon Road late Tuesday evening. There the animals will receive rehabilitation before they鈥檙e put up for adoption next week, Harrold said.
The Montreal SPCA took the opportunity to highlight the plights of other farmed animals in Canada being raised for slaughter.
鈥淥ne thing that we also hope is that people will also extend their empathy to the animals that are being farmed here in similar conditions as the dogs were,鈥� Anita Kapuscinska told CTV Montreal on Tuesday. 鈥淭his happens here in Canada, just not with dogs, but other animals who feel pain.鈥�
The dog meat trade is the most widespread in South Korea, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and northern India, according to HSI. In South Korea, they estimate that 2.5 million dogs are farmed and killed every year for food.
With files from CTV Montreal
