Hundreds of dogs and puppies have been rescued from a meat farm in South Korea by an animal rights charity.
The squalid farm in Hongseong in western South Korea, had been breeding dogs both for meat and to be sold as pets for eight years, keeping tiny puppies and adult dogs in cramped, rusting cages.
Nearly 200 Chihuahuas, corgis, huskies, Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Pomeranians, Shih Tzus, and French bulldogs have today been removed by Humane Society International (HSI) activists
Rescued: Dogs look out from a cage at a dog farm during a rescue event, involving the closure of the farm organised by the Humane Society International (HSI), in Hongseong
Mission: A HSI team member carries a corgi from a cage to a crate so it can be taken away from the squalid meat and puppy farm
HSI activists had been able to move some of the cages indoors, and put straw on the floor, but after negotiations with the farmer, they were finally able to rescue the dogs this week
Cruelty: This farm had been operating as a combined dog meat and puppy mill business with almost 200 dogs and puppies on site
Newborn puppies were found living in cages with exposed wire floors with only heat lamps and disused tyres for insulation, while 'meat dogs' were kept outside in the freezing cold waiting to be sold to local restaurants.
Many of the dogs had untreated injuries or deformities to their paws and legs as a result of living in the small cages with no proper flooring.
Others were emaciated with matted fur, or had been left without water in their bowls.
As the farm functioned both to breed meat dogs and as a 'puppy mill', any 'pet dogs' which could not be sold would end up in the slaughterhouse.
'The lines between puppy mills and dog meat farms are routinely blurred throughout South Korea, and with our latest dog farm closure we are exposing the shocking reality of that,' Nara Kim of HSI South Korea said.
Newborn puppies were found living in cramped rusty cages with exposed wire floors with only heat lamps and disused tyres for insulation
Taken away: These dogs would have been bred to be sold as pets rather than for meat, however, if they had not sold they would been slaughtered for local restaurants
