Priscilla Presley Holds Dead Dog While Protesting Canine Meat Trade with Kim Basinger

Nick Maslow
Updated

Warning: The following story contains graphic images and details about deceased dogs. Please proceed with caution.

Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger joined forces on Tuesday to protest the dog meat trade.

Wearing white gloves and a “stop dog meat” t-shirt over white scrubs, Presley, 73, held a dead dog in her arms as she stood outside the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles. Presley also appeared to be wearing a bandage near the tip of her nose.

The late Elvis Presley’s ex-wife was joined by Basinger, 64, who held a sign depicting three dead dogs hanging from wires. “Stop dog meat,” the sign said in all-caps text.

The Blast reported that sources close to the protest said that the dead dogs — which were also held by actresses E.G. Daily, 56, and Donna D’Errico, 50 — were taken from a Los Angeles veterinarian in order to “serve as an example of the type of lovable dogs that are killed and used for consumption in South Korea.” Sources also indicated that the dogs were to be “respectfully cremated” following the protests, The Blast reported.

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Reps for Presley, Basinger and Last Chance for Animals, the advocacy organization behind the event, did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment, but a statement on its website explained the purpose of the protest.

“LCA and S. Korean sister organization, Animal Liberation Wave (ALW), are holding 3 demonstrations simultaneously on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Seoul, South Korea to protest the S. Korean dog meat trade,” the website says. “The protests are being held on Bok Nal, the first of 3 non-consecutive days, known as the hottest days of the Korean summer. Dog meat consumption rises exponentially this time of year in S. Korea as dog meat soup, known as ‘Boshintang,’ is the food of choice to combat the extreme heat and humidity.”

According to the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C., South Koreans slaughter an estimated 2 million dogs for human consumption each year, and Humane Society International estimates that 30 million dogs around the world are killed for food each year.

Selling dog meat in South Korea is legal, National Geographic reported during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but dog and snake meat are both officially classified as “detestable” by the nation. The practice appears to be declining as South Koreans increasingly come to think of dogs as pets, Agence France-Presse reported in February.

RELATED: Behind the Scenes of Olympic Skier Gus Kenworthy’s South Korea Dog Meat Farm Rescue Effort

Two days ago my beautiful baby Beemo passed away. It was completely unexpected and Matt and I are beside ourselves trying to cope with her loss. For a week or so we'd been worrying because she was showing less and less interest in her food. There were several trips to the vet and on our final visit this past Thursday I asked them do a full body scan in case there was an underlying issue they had missed. Beemo went into a panic attack during the x-rays and her breathing became rapid and shallow. The scan revealed that her lungs were deteriorated and that her heart was too big for her body - a birth defect we had no way of knowing about. Unable to treat her there, I rushed her to the emergency vet where a breathing tube was put down her throat. They hoped that with a respirator breathing for her they could get her vitals back to a normal level so she could be treated but they were never able to do so. The past two days have been a blur. It all happened so fast that it's still hard to believe it. The ER doc told us that even if we'd somehow spotted the issue earlier it wouldn't have made a difference in the end. He said that she'd been living on "borrowed time" from the get go. Beemo was truly the best thing that ever happened to me and I feel so fortunate for our borrowed time together. I've never loved anything or anyone in the way that I loved that dog and she is and will always be deeply missed. She was so smart and playful. She brought so much happiness to so many people every single day. I'll always remember being out on a walk with her and every other second she would get stopped by someone wanting to pet her, kneel down and kiss her, hold her in their arms or take a photo and on many occasions a crowd of people would have formed around her. That was her power: she made people smile. She was the kindest, most gentle soul I've ever known. She loved people. She loved birds and the snow. She loved me and Matt. But most of all she loved meeting other dogs. If any of you have pets up in doggy heaven please tell them to go find Bee because she could really use a good play date right now. RIP sweet creature - your daddy loves you more than you could ever even know!

A post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on May 26, 2018 at 6:32pm PDT

Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy famously rescued a canine from a South Korean meat farm during the Winter Games. Beemo later died in the U.S. due to a birth defect that caused her to have an enlarged heart, Kenworthy announced in an emotional Instagram post in May.