Songpa-gu Provides Temporary Shelter for Pets of COVID-19 Confirmed Patients

Park Sung-soo, Mayor of Songpa-gu, attending the Songpa Pet Festival last June

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The era of 10 million pet owners.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seong-su Park) established the Animal Welfare Team in January last year and has been leading the spread of a healthy and responsible animal protection culture.

It is once again attracting attention as an animal welfare policy to respond to the post-COVID-19 era.

COVID-19 has the characteristics of a zoonotic disease. Since there is a risk of infection by the same pathogen between humans and animals, attention is needed for the management of pets and stray animals.

Also, preparations must be made for cases where confirmed patients have pets at home.

Accordingly, Songpa-gu is providing a temporary care transfer service for pets of confirmed patients to residents. This service is offered to confirmed patient households without family members to care for their pets. The cost required for pet care is free, and in the past month, four dogs of confirmed patients were transferred to temporary care hospitals, receiving high evaluations from users.

In addition, from the second half of this year, pilot feeding stations for stray cats are being operated. Feeding stations have been installed in four locations in the Pungnap-dong area to create a harmonious coexistence environment. Through this, the district expects to efficiently promote the cat neutering (TNR) project and effectively control the population, while also listening to the voices of residents who oppose it and operating flexibly.

For more details, please contact the Animal Welfare Team of the Culture and Sports Division in Songpa-gu.

Seong-su Park, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “Only 12% of pet owners who adopted dogs stay with them until they die, so more attention is needed in the future,” and added, “We will do our best to ensure that respect for animal life leads to a culture of coexistence where all life lives together.”

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