A picture of a man dragging a dog down the road behind his truck posted on an online community has sparked outrage from netizens and animal rights lovers. This is not the first time this has happened in Korea this year – nor is it a uniquely Korean phenomenon.
From Nate:
“The Devil’s Truck” – Dog Dragged By Truck Collapses, “Astonishment”
The so-called “Devil’s Truck” incident is causing much controversy.
The online community has dubbed a truck that was seen dragging a dog behind it as the “Devil’s Truck”.
An accusatory netizen said that he had seen the truck dragging a dog by its legs along the road on his way home.
The shocked netizen said that at first the dog was leashed [to the truck] and was following behind it, but the truck picked up speed and eventually started dragging the dog as the dog laid on the ground.
The “devil truck” continued to drag the dog along even when the dog began to foam at the mouth and shed blood. The netizen testified that his father, who was riding with him in the car, angrily pointed the situation out to the truck driver; however, he claims the truck driver kept on driving while laughing at them.
Last April, there was an incident where a dog was tied to the trunk of a fast-moving Equus and an incident in Busan where a Visto driver left a dog tied to his back door; those incidents were referred to as the “Devil’s Equus” and the “Devil’s Visto,” respectively.
However, in both of the above cases, the owners of the vehicles were cleared of suspicion because the “Devil’s Equus” incident happened due to the car owner’s mistake and the “Devil’s Visto” incident did not cause injury to the dog.
The Korea Association for Animal Protection commented on the “Devil’s Truck” incident by saying, “Incidents like these keep happening in our society because the current animal protection law does not do enough. Although the animal protection law should be able to punish in advance an owner who abuses animals while transporting them, the current animal protection law ends up being only recommendations for the owner to cease [what they are doing to the animal]. Therefore, even if the dog is already dead or injured after the incident, it is difficult to punish the owner unless it is proven it was done intentionally by the owner.”
The animal protection agency continued, “Even if the animal is not injured, we are strongly against animal transport in this manner – this should be punishable by law.”
Comments from Nate:
조봉환:
Although I don’t like animals that much, I think these kind of cases are not right…our country’s law is really too generous…I’m tired of hearing about sexual assaults, armed robberies, murders…tomorrow, someone will get hurt. Before someone gets hurt, let’s tighten up the law and maybe you should arrest the criminals.
허민녕:
I’m no animal lover, in fact I am closer to a dog hater. When exercising in the park, I hate the people who don’t leash their dogs and say to their dogs things like “oh my baby.” Because we’re human, we should be able to distinguish the difference between humans and animals – those who don’t have this kind of mindset have a serious problem. However, we should treat all forms of life with dignity. Of course, we give humans a higher amount of dignity compared to animals, but that doesn’t mean other life forms shouldn’t be treated with dignity as well. Should we expect a person who doesn’t know how to respect life to know human dignity? I don’t love animals, but those who do not respect the sanctity of life deserve punishment.
박주영:
The driver continued to drag [the dog] while laughing at them? Good God, what an asshole…why does he live such a trashy life?? Since [the dog] cannot say he is in pain, do you think you can do that? What’s your address? I will beat you soundly and drag you behind a car too.
박현지:
That driver will come to his senses when he is dragged by a running car. Anyways, when seeing people who abuse dogs because they are dumb things, I am at a loss for words. I think you should have found the driver and punished him.
김동현:
The dog should get in the car and drag that bastard behind him ke ke
김문수:
Someone should drag him by his dick down the Autobahn~
김샘이:
Did you know that one of the diagnoses of being a psychopath includes animal abuse? A psychopath kills because he or she does not feel anything emotionally and can even simply dismiss it as a joke. These people are preliminary criminals who can become criminals in the future without considering morality.
최상현:
If the dog did not die, when the owner got out of his vehicle, I bet you the dog was still wagging its tail [for its master] while getting up off the ground. It would be good if that bastard drops dead soon.
이수영:
This makes me really upset. Why do things like this keep happening and the law does nothing about it? Do people think that those animals’ lives are less significant than our own? The Animal Protection Law exists for situations like this. How messed up is it when the law, which is necessary for people to live and be assured [of the law being upheld], is like this? I feel pathetic because I can’t do anything.
박정민:
How can you abuse an animal like that even though the animal can’t say anything? When animals attack people, we condemn it. But how can you punish a dog that attacks people and then just lightly punish people who abuse animals??
이소연:
This is really serious. It seems like people are getting crazier little by little. Now people take out their frustration on innocent animals. Why are people like that not chained up?
박정원:
This is something that one can’t do to an animal…since that must have been painful for the person watching it, somebody please punish [the driver].
양성우:
Why are Koreans cruel like this?…Animals have lives too, don’t they? If Confucius saw this he’d faint.
박기범:
I think it’s possible to judge the character of a country by looking at the way it treats its pets…Korea has a long way to go.
김미정:
[Quoting the article] “The netizen testified that his father, who was riding with him in the car, angrily pointed the situation out to the truck driver; however, he claims the truck driver kept on driving while laughing at them.” This part is too creepy…
김대현:
This makes my blood [pressure] rise…
김혜원:
Die! Die, you trashy bastard!
권순호:
I really want to kill that bastard.
