[2020 National Audit] Practice Dogs Used in Experiments Despite Disease Outbreaks... "Animal Carcass Volume Reaches 573 Tons"

Total of 2,654 Tons of Animal Carcasses Over 5 Years
More Universities Than Private Companies

No Way to Track Abandoned Animals
Lee Tan-hee "Animal Protection Act to Be Proposed"

Son Grace, a member of all people aiming for Vegan (Vejimo), is bowing in remembrance of animals sacrificed in animal testing at the 'Requiem Ceremony to Comfort and Apologize to Animals Sacrificed in Experiments for Human Consumption' held on May 24 at Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] There have been cases where universities used practice dogs of unclear origin for experiments, or where a practice dog was used for about a month despite developing an illness and eventually died in the breeding room.

According to data received by Lee Tanhee, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 19th, the total amount of animal carcasses handled by animal experiment facilities over the past five years was confirmed to be 2,654 tons. The amount of animal carcasses increased from 450 tons in 2015 to 686 tons in 2018, then slightly decreased to 573 tons last year.

The number of animals used as experimental subjects last year was approximately 3.71 million, with private companies using 1.74 million, the highest number, followed by universities with 1.2 million, national and public institutions with 440,000, and medical institutions with 33,000.

Kyungpook National University used practice dogs of unclear origin last year, and forced mating through estrus induction agents was also conducted during the practice process. Additionally, one of the practice dogs developed an illness but was still used for practice for about a month before eventually dying in the breeding room. Notably, from 2015 to July this year, out of 470 dogs and cats used as experimental animals at Kyungpook National University, 211 were purchased from suppliers not registered as experimental animal supply facilities with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. There were also experiments where animals already used in experiments were reused in other experiments, or animals other than those approved by the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee were used without the approval process being updated.

Lee Tan-hee, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

There is currently no legal basis to punish institutions conducting animal experiments that are not regulated by the Laboratory Animal Act when they obtain animals from unlicensed suppliers. Although experiments on abandoned animals are clearly prohibited, it is unclear whether rescue dogs or meat dogs are considered abandoned animals.

Assemblyman Lee stated, "Life ethics education for students at educational institutions, including veterinary colleges nationwide, must be strengthened," and added, "I plan to propose an amendment to the Animal Protection Act to prevent abandoned dogs, meat dogs, and stray cats from being used in experiments."

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