Burbank mayor, council member to send letter to sister city discouraging illegal dog farms
Burbank Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy and Councilman Tim Murphy will be sending a letter to the mayor of Incheon, South Korea, regarding the recent controversial issue involving the killing of dogs for meat consumption.
Burbank City Council members discussed on Tuesday whether they, as a whole, should send a letter to Incheon Mayor Park Nam-Chun commending him for not supporting illegal dog farms and the consumption of dog meat in his city.
Incheon is one of Burbank’s four sister cities, said Erika De Leon, an administrative analyst for the city.
While Gabel-Luddy and Murphy thought it would be good for the city to support its sister city during this time, the rest of the council members said they thought the city should not be taking a stance on an international issue.
On June 21, the city court of Bucheon, South Korea, ruled the killing of dogs for consumption is illegal, and it has subsequently been a hot topic in the country.
The City Council received an email from a representative of KoreanDogs.org asking that city officials tell Park to shut down the dog farms, slaughterhouses, markets, truckers and restaurants that serve dog meat in Incheon.
“I certainly don’t want to tell them what to do, what to eat [or] say anything is wrong with their culture, but letting them know how we feel, I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Murphy said.
Vice Mayor Sharon Springer and Councilmen Bob Frutos and Jess Talamantes said that although they too support animal rights, they think the city should not take a formal stance on the issue.
Gabel-Luddy and Murphy agreed they would be the only council members sending the letter to Park, but Frutos and Talamantes told their colleagues not to use an official city letterhead and instead use a personal one.
“When you sign your name on official letterhead, you’re acting in your official scope,” Frutos said.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
