Since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in late 2010, approximately 1 million animals have been killed. Many of these animals have been buried alive in mass graves. Large trucks dump hundreds of pigs into large pits, and the animals are covered in soil. The animals then slowly suffocate to death in the absence of air.
Worse still, improper burial often allows for air pockets to form. Some animals remain alive but are unable to move—sometimes for days—before they eventually die from trauma, starvation, or dehydration. Using live burial as a disease-control method violates both the domestic animal protection law and Korea's obligations under the World Organization for Animal Health's policies.
These animals are victims of intensive factory farming and deserve a more humane death. PETA has contacted authorities but has received no response. You can help! Please contact the South Korean embassies in the U.S and the U.K. and ask officials to pressure the South Korean government to immediately stop burying animals alive and implement humane ways of dealing with the disease.