Residents of a village in Naju, Jeollanam-do, have filed a defamation lawsuit against an animal rights organization.
The village head council of Geumcheon-myeon in Naju said on the 24th that they reported organization A to the police, stating, "The animal rights group posted false information about 'attempted dog slaughter' on social media."
The complaint stated that there was no fact that a dog had been slaughtered in the village, but organization A posted as if animal abuse had occurred, tarnishing the village's reputation.
This incident occurred on the 31st of last month, the day after the overlap. At the time, a citizen discovered a 25 kg male dog with a severe head injury near Yeondong-gil in Geumcheon-myeon and requested rescue from the city animal protection center. The protection center then dispatched personnel to transport the dog to a public animal hospital for treatment.
Afterward, organization A characterized this as an 'slaughter incident' and posted it on social media and their website, leading to widespread public outrage online.
In a post, organization A wrote, "A dog that was repeatedly hit on the head with a hammer escaped and appeared in the village covered in blood," and stated that "the bludgeoning that occurs frequently around the dog days is mostly related to attempts to slaughter for dog meat consumption."
"There is strong evidence that someone in the rural village secretly attempted to catch a dog," they claimed, adding, "The dog that escaped while bleeding from a head injury on the day of overlap hid somewhere and later returned to the village and collapsed."
Online, there was an influx of criticism against nearby residents, decrying them as "cruel humans."
However, after the police conducted a detailed analysis of the village's closed-circuit television (CCTV), it was confirmed that this was unrelated to abuse or slaughter and was identified as injuries caused by a "dog fight" in the early morning hours.
On the 16th, organization A posted a follow-up stating, "As a result of the police CCTV investigation, it was concluded as an 'accident caused by a dog bite,'" but did not correct the previous post about attempted slaughter.
Thus, residents are demanding an apology for the dissemination of false posts and the deletion of the posts.
Lee Gwang-hee, the head of the Geumcheon-myeon village head council, expressed anger, stating, "Although the Naju village residents did not slaughter any dogs, they posted with speculation without knowing the exact circumstances, thereby damaging the village's reputation."
A Naju city official said, "Baseless suspicions and false information can lead to confusion and mistrust among pet owners," and added, "We will maintain trust through fact-based responses and thorough management and strengthen animal welfare."