[2020 National Audit] Stray Animals Increase by 67% in 5 Years... Animal Protection Centers Decrease Instead

81,147 animals in 2014 → 135,791 animals last year
Last year, Gyeonggi Province had the highest occurrence, followed by Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Chungnam, and Jeonnam
Assemblyman Eo Gi-gu: "Need to expand social consensus on protecting abandoned animals"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] While the number of abandoned animals has increased by 67% over the past five years, animal protection centers have rather decreased.

On the 7th, Oh Ki-gu, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed this out during the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' audit held at the National Assembly. According to Representative Oh, the number of abandoned animals surged from 81,147 in 2014, 82,082 in 2015, and 89,732 in 2016, exceeding 100,000 with 102,593 in 2017. It continued to increase annually with 121,077 in 2018 and 135,791 in 2019. Recently, it has surged by more than 67% over the past five years.

By region, Gyeonggi Province recorded the highest number of abandoned animals last year with 28,212, followed by Gyeongnam with 14,174, Gyeongbuk with 9,153, Chungnam with 8,745, and Jeonnam with 8,579.

While abandoned animals are rapidly increasing every year, the animal protection centers that should protect them are rather decreasing. Last year, there were a total of 284 animal protection centers nationwide, down from 307 in 2015 and 298 in 2018. The number of city and county-run animal protection centers supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs last year was only 39.

Representative Oh Ki-gu emphasized, "Social consensus on the protection of abandoned animals is spreading," adding, "To expand animal protection centers, improving awareness of the centers through discovering best practices must accompany the effort."

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