"Are You Really Going Out at This Time?" Concerns Over 'Pet Dog Walking Hate' Amid COVID-19 Spread

WHO "No Cases of COVID-19 Infection or Spread in Dogs and Cats"
Experts "Pets Much Safer from COVID-19 Than Humans"

Recently, dog owners taking walks with their pets have been receiving heavy criticism, leading to ongoing controversy surrounding the issue. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Suwan Kim] "Are you really going out at this time? Even dogs get frustrated if they don't go out."

Ms. A, a housewife in her 50s, said, "Recently, as COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly, I feel self-conscious about taking my dog for a walk." She added, "Not long ago, someone criticized me, saying, 'Dogs can get COVID-19 too, so why did you bring it out?' Experts clearly said that pets are unlikely to be infected, but hearing such comments makes me feel uneasy."

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 24th at 9 a.m. that 161 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in South Korea since 4 p.m. the previous day. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 763, with one additional death, raising the total fatalities to seven.

As the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea accelerates day by day, citizens' anxiety is growing. Along with this, criticism is being directed at pet owners who take their dogs out for walks, sparking ongoing controversy.

Earlier, on the 3rd, according to a report by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post, Li Lanjuan, an infectious disease expert affiliated with China's National Health Commission, claimed that pets such as dogs kept at home should also be cautious about COVID-19 infection.

The report stated that Li Lanjuan warned, "Pets can be infected if they come into contact with or are exposed to virus patients, and the virus can spread among mammals."

However, on the 29th of last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, "There is no evidence that pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with or spread COVID-19."

WHO added, "However, after contact with pets, washing hands with soap significantly reduces the bacteria, including E. coli, that can be transmitted between pets and humans."

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) also emphasized, based on genetic sequence data analysis, that "there have been no cases of pets infected with COVID-19, and they do not transmit it to humans."

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there is no evidence that pets such as dogs or cats become infected with or spread COVID-19. Photo by Yonhap News

As a result, negative voices about walking dogs have emerged, such as "Walking dogs is dangerous," "At first, they said human-to-human transmission wasn't possible, but wasn't that wrong?" and "Shouldn't we refrain from it during the COVID-19 outbreak?"

A netizen in their 20s, Mr. B, said, "The government declared a state of emergency, so I don't understand why people still go out (with their dogs)." He raised his voice, saying, "Even if dogs don't transmit the virus, shouldn't people be careful?"

Another netizen, Mr. C (33), said, "You never know. Experts didn't say the possibility is zero, so isn't it possible to get infected?" He added, "Isn't the person more important than the dog? Everyone should be cautious until the situation calms down, but seeing so-called 'Gaebba' (a derogatory term for dog lovers) only thinking about dogs makes me angry."

On the other hand, Mr. D (27), an office worker who owns a dog, said, "Many pet owners wear masks while walking their dogs, so people just want to criticize." He expressed frustration, saying, "The possibility of animal transmission is very low, so those who criticize are wrong." Mr. D continued, "It seems like they just hate pet owners. As the COVID-19 situation worsens, they use this as an excuse to criticize."

Some argue that the problem lies in pet owners not wearing masks while walking their dogs.

Experts analyzed that dogs are much safer from COVID-19 than humans. On the 1st, veterinarian Chaehyun Seol posted a video titled "Are Pets Safe from the Novel Coronavirus?" on her YouTube channel 'Seol Chaehyun's DOG Seol TV.'

In the video, Dr. Seol said, "It can be considered that the possibility of dogs getting COVID-19 is almost zero," adding, "In fact, not going out for walks causes more stress for dogs." She further stated, "If COVID-19 had been transmitted to dogs, WHO or China would have announced it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.