Simon Cowell recently donated £25,000 to the Humane Society International (HSI) to help close a dog meat farm in South Korea.
The organisation aims to rescue more than 200 caged dogs and puppies that are bred for human consumption.
And the X Factor mogul’s generous donation helped the organisation fund a rescue operation at a dog meat farm in Gyeonggi-do, while his fame has also had an “impact” in raising awareness in the country.
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Wendy Higgins, HSI’s Director of International Media, praised the 58-year-old star for his “enormously” beneficial gift.
She told US publication PEOPLE magazine: “His support helped financially but also in raising awareness. We met people in South Korea who had heard of his donation and it really had an impact.”
The operation was the 13th dog meat farm the organisation have shut down and they found the canines in the facility were covered in sores and had skin diseases, and were kept in dirty, sparse wire cages with “absolutely no enrichment or comfort.”
Wendy added to PEOPLE: “It’s my fifth dog meat farm closure with HSI and honestly, it never gets any easier, it never feels any less horrific to see these dogs clearly so terrified and yet so desperate for human affection.
“The conditions are utterly shocking, a factory farm for dogs where they are kept in tiny prisons day in day out. And yet to be there with my HSI colleagues to lift these guys out of that deprivation and suffering, is the best feeling in the world.”
All of the animals saved in the rescue operation have been flown to partner shelters in the US, UK, and Netherlands, and HSI’s temporary facility in Canada. There, they will be vetted and brought back to full health before being rehomed.
And HSI’s work doesn’t stop there as they also help the owners of the closed dog meat farms find new livelihoods, setting them up with more humane and profitable trades such as mushroom farming.
South Korea still has around 17,000 dog meat farms, with HSI hoping to shut down as many as they can and to get the country’s government involved in help trying to eradicate the industry.
Last month, Claire Bass, HSI’s boss, said in a statement on the organisation’s website: “Simon’s generous donation means the world to us, and provides a huge boost to our appeal to close this horrendous dog meat farm.
“More than 200 dogs are languishing in the most appalling conditions, but we have a real chance to save them.”
She added: “With every dog farm we close and every farmer we help switch to a more profitable, humane business, we’re showing the South Korean government that it’s possible to end this cruel trade.”
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Last year, Simon – who has three dogs – spoke about the dog meat farms on Good Morning Britain.
He said: “It’s like eating your friend. It’s the fact you’re eating such a kind, helpless, sweet animal.”
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