Gwanak-gu, Results of Efforts to Establish a Mature Animal Culture?

Contributing to Improved Animal Welfare and Life Respect Awareness, Selected for Excellence Award at the '2020 Animal Welfare Awards'... Actively Promoting 23 Projects Across 5 Units in 2021 to Spread Proper Pet Care Culture... Operating Emergency Treatment Center for Abandoned Animals, Adoption Fee Support, Medical Expense Assistance for Pets of Vulnerable Groups, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has established the 2021 Animal Welfare Implementation Plan to create a city where people and companion animals live happily together, and continues to make steady efforts to improve the level of animal welfare and establish a mature animal culture.

In particular, the district received high praise for realizing respect for life with the lowest nationwide euthanasia rate for abandoned animals (0%) for four consecutive years last year, the highest adoption and return rate nationwide (88.2%), and for spreading animal protection and welfare culture by strengthening the public-private-academic network with Seoul National University and residents. As a result, it was honored with the Excellence Award (Minister of the Interior and Safety Award) at the ‘2020 Animal Welfare Awards’.

This year, under the vision of ‘Creating a city where people and companion animals are happy together,’ the district plans to actively promote five projects: ▲ protection and management of abandoned animals ▲ fostering a coexistence culture with stray cats ▲ livestock quarantine ▲ activation of animal welfare ▲ and customized on-site animal civil complaint resolution.

First, the abandoned animal protection center, responsible for rescuing, protecting, returning, and adopting abandoned and lost animals, will continue to operate within the region. The district will make active efforts to ensure that abandoned and lost animals can return to their owners or find new families through adoption without euthanasia. It will also lead the activation of abandoned animal adoption through the ‘Abandoned Animal Adoption Expense Support Project,’ which supports vaccinations and animal registration fees for residents adopting abandoned animals in the area.

Additionally, to minimize conflicts caused by companion animals and promote coexistence with animals, the ‘Companion Animal Behavior Correction’ project will be actively promoted, where companion animal behavior counselors visit homes to correct animal behavior. The district will also actively pursue the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) project to control the population of stray cats.

Unlike other districts in Seoul, Gwanak-gu has been conducting the TNR-Day event as a district-led project since 2018 in close cooperation with stray cat protection organizations. The feeding stations and restrooms for stray cats, installed to alleviate residents’ inconvenience, are actively managed through volunteer efforts by private organizations.

Following last year, this year as well, experts such as veterinarians, companion animal behavior counselors, and pet groomers will visit community service centers to provide various services including health, hygiene grooming, behavior, and nutrition counseling for companion animals through the ‘Visiting Animal Hospital’ project. The district will also continue the ‘Medical Expense Support Project for Companion Animals of Vulnerable Groups,’ which supports vaccinations and neutering surgery costs for companion animals in low-income households, aiming to eliminate blind spots in animal welfare.

Especially this year, the district plans to further strengthen the protection and management of abandoned animals by operating an ‘Abandoned Animal Emergency Treatment Center’ that provides prompt and effective treatment without conditions for emergency, severe, and trauma cases of abandoned animals occurring within the region.

In the second half of the year, the district will co-host the ‘Coexistence with Animals Festival’ consisting of events such as a pet etiquette walking contest and the ‘Companion Animal Hanmadang,’ a festival where people and companion animals interact and enjoy together, in collaboration with Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine. This will provide an opportunity to experience a mature companion animal culture where people and animals coexist.

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “The post-COVID-19 era is a time when companion animal culture is spreading and new awareness of animal welfare is needed. We will continue to actively promote various animal protection and welfare projects that meet the needs of households with companion animals, striving to establish a mature companion animal culture based on mutual understanding and respect, and to create an environment where people and animals can be happy together.”

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