Why Did Gwanak-gu Promote 23 Pet-Related Projects This Year?

Providing On-Site Pet Behavior Correction and Mobile Veterinary Services...Nationwide Lowest Euthanasia Rate for Abandoned Animals, Strengthening Public-Academic Networks, 2020 Animal Welfare Awards Excellence Prize Winner

Cheongnim Community Center Visiting Animal Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The era of 10 million companion pet owners.

Although social understanding and culture regarding companion pets have changed significantly, the rapid increase in the number of pet owners has led to growing conflicts between non-pet owners and pet owners due to various complaints.

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) is continuously working on animal welfare projects and efforts to establish a proper companion pet culture to create a happy environment where humans and animals coexist.

To minimize conflicts between neighbors caused by pet behavior and to foster a culture of coexistence with animals, the district operates a "Visiting Companion Pet Behavior Correction" program where pet behavior counselors visit homes directly.

The "Visiting Animal Hospital" program provides various services such as simple check-ups, hygiene grooming, behavior and nutrition counseling by experts including veterinarians, pet behavior counselors, and dog groomers, who visit nearby community centers to assist households that cannot frequently access animal hospitals, receiving positive responses.

From October to mid-December last year, the "Meongmeonga, Let's Play!" animal interaction program, operated every Friday by volunteers and service dogs visiting welfare facilities for the disabled in the area, helped support the emotional and psychological stability of people with disabilities.

Since last year, the newly introduced "Medical Expense Support Project for Vulnerable Companion Pets," which provides vaccinations and neutering surgery costs for pets in low-income households, and the "Adoption Expense Support Project for Stray Animals," which supports vaccinations and animal registration fees for residents adopting stray animals, have been continuously promoted this year to address blind spots in animal welfare.

Through the "Visiting Animal Complaint Resolution Project," a year-round task force has been formed to minimize animal-related complaints such as noise complaints from pets and the capture of feral stray dogs (wild dogs).

In particular, the district has realized respect for life with the lowest nationwide euthanasia rate of 0% for stray animals for four consecutive years and the highest adoption and return rate of 88.2%. It received high evaluations for spreading animal protection and welfare culture through strengthened public-private-academic networks with Seoul National University and residents, earning the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award, an excellence award at the 2020 Animal Welfare Awards.

This year, the district newly operates an "Emergency Treatment Center for Stray Animals" to treat emergency stray animals and severely ill strays that are difficult to treat at local stray animal protection centers, leading efforts to strengthen stray animal protection management and animal injury and disease control.

The district plans to actively promote 23 projects under five units this year to spread a proper companion pet care culture under the goal of "coexistence with animals," including ▲ stray animal protection management ▲ fostering a coexistence culture with stray cats ▲ livestock quarantine ▲ activation of animal welfare projects ▲ and visiting customized animal complaint resolution projects.

Mayor Park Junhee said, "We plan to continue various animal protection and welfare projects tailored to the needs of households with companion pets, and we will do our best to contribute to establishing a mature companion pet culture where everyone understands and respects each other and to creating an environment where companion pets and humans can coexist."

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