Dear reader,
The Korean federal government implemented revisions to animal welfare laws 2018 March 22. The revisions included 3 significant changes, as per explained below.
1. Strengthening of punishments for animal abuse.
Potential scenarios of animal abuse before February 2018 amendments A man drinks alcohol becomes drunk and hits his pet. He cannot be punished by laws before the February 2018 amendments. An animal is making a loud racket and persons of the same building call the local police. A person caught committing an act of animal abuse and is brought to the police station. The animal in question does not have any injuries and therefore the person is, according to law, automatically innocent. Hitting animals with thin sticks or lightly weighted clubs usually do not cause injuries, only pain, and therefore could not be punished under previous laws. |
Korean laws on animal abuse has historically been few in number and weak. Prior to revisions, the act of beating an animal without inflicting harm (i.e. broken bones, bleeding or tearing) was categorised under physical punishment and dismissed as an issue of animal abuse.
Under newly amended laws, beating an animal without causing visible harm is now by punishable by law.
The terms of animal abuse have also been extended to include extreme weather conditions (intense heat, severe cold), force feeding and animal fighting (with the exception of traditional Korean bullfighting) in the definition.
Traditionally, police have not been able to respond to reports of animal abuse (and the accused not charged) and civilians have looked to social foundations for consultation on these issues. With the new amendments, persons can now successfully submit reports to police.
This is a huge gain for animal welfare in Korea. We at KAPS are extremely glad to see this change.
However, Korea still does not have any law to remove abused animals from their owner and abused animals will remain the property of the owner. Laws exist to remove the abused animal from the owner but once an animal has recovered, it is once again returned to the owner. Undoubtedly, these laws require further revision.
☞ KAPS’s standpoint: Keeping an animal in a cage or tied up, limiting their freedom of movement, beyond a set period of time and the act of keeping animals under 6 months of age in display units should be included under animal cruelty. These particulars are likely to require more time before they are included in laws. However, with your efforts, we can shorten the time until they included in legislation.
2. Strengthening of punishments for pet owners violating the law
1) For pet abandonment, owners were formerly penalised a maximum of 1 000 000 won but now will be penalised a maximum of 3 000 000 won.
2) The penalty of not registering an animal has increased from a maximum fine of 200 000 won to a fine of maximum 600 000 won.
KAPS recommends pet owners who have not registered their pet animals to immediately take their pets to the nearest veterinarian to be registered.
Under current law, animals must be registered and either carry an identification tag or have a microchip inserted. Identification tags are naturally less reliable; a pet escapes and the tag can be lost or removed by another person.
Governments in Europe, Australia and Japan have already mandated that all pets must be microchipped. Voices have raised concern over the possible health side effects of microchips, but the overwhelming safety and security microchipping provides generally has overwhelmed concerns.
Potential scenarios prior to February 2018 amendments KAPS received a call asking about a lost Shiba dog. The dog had been sighted just 3 days before, being pulled on a lead by a man in his 60s in front of a dog grooming shop she regularly visited. Regardless of having a sighting, she had no method to finding and retrieving her dog. The moment a pet escapes and the identification tag is removed, you have no method of proving the animal is your property. Lost animals may end up in a puppy mills, animal markets or in a variety of other circumstances. A separate GPS tracking device (not required by law and separate from the microchip) will enable you to find your pet and the microchip will enable you to identify the rightful owner. In the instances of non-compliance, a report can be filed with the police. In particularly harsh circumstances, persons may extort money and valuables from pet owners in return for their animal. In a country with insufficient animal welfare laws, like Korea, the value of a microchip is priceless.
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3) Circumstances where measures are not taken to ensure safety (i.e. leash, muzzle), pet owners previously fined a maximum of 100 000 won will now be charged a maximum of 500 000 won.
By law, pets must wear leashes and dog breeds considered aggressive (Tosa, American Pitbull, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Rottweiler and any dogs crossbred with these) must wear leashes and muzzles.
☞ Comment from KAPS: amongst consultation we have done with the community, we have heard dissatisfaction expressed at the strengthening of punishments for non-use of leashes in public places. We have also spoken to persons on submitting civil complaints following injury from an animal bite. We express our understanding for both parties and encourage tolerance on both sides.
More generally, as an animal protection society, we do not urge you to unconditionally understand persons who dislike animals. Likewise, we ask those who dislike animals to respect animal owners whom abide by the law. We must live together in one society. Let’s live in harmony.
3. Strengthening of regulation of the pet industry
Following the growth of the pet industry, new compliance requirements have been created.
1) All live pet trade businesses must apply for and receive a permit.
Most welcome among the new revisions to pet industry regulation is the permit system.
Government contracted animal shelters in Korea accept about 80 000 abandoned and feral animals yearly. A significant proportion of these animals are euthanised. Regardless of the enormous number of animals given up to shelters and often euthanised, the Korean government until now has not regulated the number of animals produced by the live animal trade.
Social foundations have made a continuous effort to reduce rates of euthanasia in Korea, whether through promoting animal shelter adoptions, promoting neutering or otherwise. Ultimately all these efforts are like pouring water into a bottomless container. The supply of animals from breeders and animal shelters greatly exceeds the demand.
We accept and welcome the amendments requiring all business in live pet trade to acquire a licence and the regulation of the industry by the government.
As the new policies roll out, businesses not meeting compliance requirements will be closed down and the rate of animal births will be regulated. We hope this will ultimately reduce the rate of euthanasia, even just a little.
2) Following amendments, live pet traders may not install cages.
3) Dogs and cats under one year may not be used for breeding and one breeding cycle is a minimum 8 months.
4) Animal breeding centres must have one staff per 75 animals and pet shops require 1 staff per 50 animals.
5) Animals in entertainment (includes animal cafes) and animal boarding (includes pet hotels) must have 1 staff member per 20 animals.
As seen above, the live pet trade will see greater regulation.
The challenge now for the government is to fully enforce the new regulations. Local governments are now required to perform yearly inspections of establishments, but manpower limitations mean it is unclear how well these may be enforced.
According to the Department for Food and Agriculture, “The government has plans to establish a dedicated office, expand the number of judicial officers and is working to create guidelines for a crackdown on animal abuse, is pushing ahead with training staff and ultimately working to eradicate animal abuse.”
If you see businesses not meeting facility standards discussed above, do not hesitate to contact your local government.
The amendments rolled out on 2018 May 22 are a great leap forward for animal welfare in South Korea. New laws and revisions to law span across the spheres of animal abuse, individual ownership and live pet trade industry regulation and all contribute to bettering the welfare of our companion animals. At KAPS, we continue to strive forward for an even brighter future and invite you to join us.
Jongha Choi
KAPS Director
Originally published 2018 April 9 in Korean.
