By Jung Min-ho



Animal rights activists from around the world are calling for the boycott of September's Incheon Asian Games, while planning to stage street protests against "bosintang" or dog meat soup.



"We mailed the hard copy of a petition containing 45,928 signatures along with comments, research reports and photos to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) office in Kuwait," a volunteer at Koreandogs.org told The Korea Times. OCA is the governing body of sports for Asia and the Middle East.



They are now detailing their schedule for street campaigns in the city during the 16-day competition.



As of Thursday noon, an online petition on the website www.change.org denouncing dog eating in Korea has received 63,997 signatures and the campaign appears to be drawing increasing interest.



The campaigners are also ramping up their effort to attract global attention through activities on social media.



The volunteer added: "We will continue to seek more support for this petition and we plan to send another petition signature package to the OCA when we reach 100,000 signatures… As long as Korea continues to torture and kill ‘man's best friend,' Korea will not enjoy true respect from the world community."



The slogan of the Incheon Asiad has been decided as ''Diversity Shines Here.'' Incheon officials might be tested on just how much diversity they could take.



Preparing the Asiad has been a challenge for Incheon, a city that has been struggling to navigate out of financial problems.



The total budget for the Asian Games is $1.62 billion, with the central government and the Incheon metropolitan government covering 19 percent and 78.9 percent, respectively. During the preparation, the city's debt surpassed 3 trillion won ($2.66 billion) in 2012, compared with 1.4 trillion won in 2007.



The main target for animal rights activists now is the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Protestors have accused Sochi authorities of ramping up a campaign to kill stray dogs with poison.



The allegation has further clouded the atmosphere of the Olympics, which has already been mired in corruption scandals and criticism over the country's suppression of sexual minorities.



