This is what a traditional-style toilet looks like. You can find them all over Asia. But this one has dogs living on and under it.

According to the SBS TV program that revealed this, the owner goes to the toilet here in order to feed his dogs. Yes, they have to eat human shit.

This practice goes way back, and in fact is probably where the name "shit dog" comes from, a traditional slang name often given to dogs in Korea. Needless to say, viewers were appalled.

Feeding human feces to pigs was a traditional practice on Korea's island of Jeju. The pigs were similarly called "dung pigs."

But there comes a time when backward and ignorant peasant practices and traditions have to be abandoned. They are nothing to be proud of and just make Korea look bad.

We can only hope the idiot in the SBS program will change his ways and give this mother and her pups decent food.

Update

We've been informed that another animal protection group has rescued these dogs. Possibly they had to buy them, which is sometimes how dogs are rescued in cases like this.

Some Aussies in Melbourne have gotten together and organized this fantastic fundraising event for In Defense of Animals' 7th International Day for Dogs and Cats in Korea.

Forks Off! have release the following statement about the event:

Forks Off! will inform, engage, inspire and motivate to work towards change, and support IDA with it's vital campaign. IDA works with two groups in South Korea, CARE and KARA who are at the coalface in championing change against these brutal industries.

We will also be raising funds to support CARE and KARA with their important work. As there is no South Korean embassy or consulate in Melbourne, this event will be filmed and sent to the South Korean embassy in Canberra. As well as informing of the terrible reality for millions of cats and dogs of South Korea via informed speakers, the event seeks to honor the significant relationships we have with our companion animals here in Melbourne.

Update: Sept. 2011

The Forks Off! event was a success and the group has kindly donated a million won to KARA's continuing anti-dog meat campaign. Thanks guys!

This was reported in the Daejon Daily newspaper on July 15, 2011, so it is probably not a hoax.

A man bought some dog meat, took it away to cook it, and when taken out of the pot and sliced, he struck an iron plate and screws. What this means that the meat must have come from someone’s pet whose leg had been broken and received surgery.

The man went back to the dog meat vendor and complained about it. At first, the dog meat vendor denied any wrongdoing, but afterwards gave a refund.

The man then went to Daejun City Hall only to have officials tell him there was nothing they could do because there was no law governing the dog meat industry. How convenient. It is also illustrative of how the government dodges all other problems with the despicable dog meat industry.

But there are other things to consider here, such as how did the dog end up in the hands of a dog meat trader. It might have been abandoned or even disgracefully betrayed and sold by its owner to a dog meat trader.

Unfortunately, when dogs get old and sick in Korea, some owners simply abandon them. Could that have happened to this dog, even though an owner had previously cared enough to pay for surgery? We'll never know.

But the incident is further proof of what we have been saying all along, which is that any dog can end up as dog meat.

Protesters have shutdown a proposed dog-meat promotion scheme at Moran Market near Seoul, Gyeonggi Province.

The Korea Dog Farmers’ Association had planned to have a dog meat festival at the market on July 1 to promote dog meat and spread propaganda. They had hoped to popularize the idea that dogs are simply livestock, like cows and pigs, and that they should be officially classified as livestock. This, the dog farmers say, will ensure more sanitary conditions.

Such propoganda is not to be believed. Attempts to clean up dog farms with sanitation laws have been a failure, and it is ludicrous to think that simply reclassifying dogs will meet with any more success. Also, the dog killing advocates make no mention of better animal welfare, probably because they don't care about that.

According to market dog-meat sellers, The Korea Dog Farmers’ Association drew unnecessary attention to the event. The original idea was to give meals to senior citizens, but the Dog Farmers’ Association tried to turn it into a propaganda event.

Animal rights groups vowed to do whatever it took to stop the festival. With all the bad publicity and spectre again of the dog meat issue damaging Korea's image and reputation, the dog meat traders backed down. But they are still defiant and plan to have a "festival" elsewhere in the future.

Officials of the Seongnam area did nothing, since there was nothing illegal about a dog meat festival. The selling and consumption of dog meat is not prohibited by law, even though it is illegal to butcher dogs and sell dog meat because dogs are not classed as livestock. To put it a better way, dog meat is neither legal nor illegal. The Korean government keeps the issue in legal limbo and prefers not to do anything about it.

The good news is that dog eating is on the decline in Korea thanks to efforts like this by groups of protesters and thanks to a new generation with a greater sensitivity to animal welfare issues. It's all making dog farmers and killers poorer and poorer and that's a good thing.