Touching and action packed, Raindance selection Dog War follows a team of war-hardened, canine-loving combat veterans fighting to stop the dog meat trade in South Korea. Covertly and overtly, they infiltrate hidden farms and markets to rescue as many dogs as possible. The film’s wide range of interviewees—activists, politicians, dog meat farmers and vendors—provide a 360-degree view of this complex issue. Dog War is not just about dogs, but the clash of perspectives about what is right, ethical, and even natural or cultural.
Director Andrew Abrahams: “My films often focus on hidden stories of suffering, places where boundaries or assumptions collide, and where new life can spring forth. Dog War can be intense and disturbing, but avoids demonizing a people or culture—or showing the brutalization of dogs, which could turn off viewers. Rather, it gives us a window into a country in transition, asking universal questions about animal rights vs. human livelihood, heroism vs. vigilantism, and the breach of contract with man’s best friend.”
The dog meat trade is most widespread in China, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Nagaland in northern India. This trade is well-organized, with high numbers of dogs being stolen or taken from the streets, transported over long distances and brutally slaughtered. In South Korea, dogs are also intensively farmed for the meat trade. Dogs are also known to be eaten in certain African countries, but nothing compares to the sheer scale of the trade across Asia.
Source/images: ARPR
