The Era of 15 Million 'Petfamjok'... 8.6 Million Pets Raised in 6.38 Million Households

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 2020 Public Awareness Survey... Dogs 2.8 Times More Than Cats
5% Adopted from Animal Protection Facilities... 29.4% Willing to Give Up Pets Due to Property Damage
87% of Citizens Say "Mandatory Education for Pet Owners Should Be Introduced"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As the number of 'Petfam' who consider pets as family members surpassed 15 million, it was found that 6.38 million households nationwide raised 8.6 million pets last year. Nearly 70% of the adoption routes were transactions between acquaintances. A survey showed that nine out of ten people believe mandatory education for pet owners is necessary.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the results of the '2020 National Awareness Survey on Animal Protection' on the 22nd. The survey asked 5,000 citizens about pet ownership and animal registration. The number of households raising pets was 6.38 million, an increase of 470,000 households from 5.91 million the previous year. Dogs were raised in 5.21 million households with 6.02 million dogs (81.6% of the total), and cats were raised in 1.82 million households with 2.58 million cats (28.6%).

Among pet owners, the rate of animal registration was 79.5%, up 11.4 percentage points from 68.1% a year earlier. Although the registration rate increased, the adoption rate declined. Regarding pet adoption routes, 'transactions between acquaintances' accounted for 69.1%, the highest, followed by 'using pet shops or other pet-related businesses' at 24.2%. Only 4.8% adopted from animal protection facilities, down by half from 9% in 2019, indicating a decrease in the adoption of abandoned dogs or cats.

The most cited reason for reluctance to adopt was 'behavioral problems such as property damage and barking' at 29.4%. This was followed by 'changes in circumstances such as moving or employment' (20.5%), 'higher than expected expenses' (18.9%), and 'animals getting sick or injured' (14.0%) had a smaller share. Among all respondents, 86.7% answered that mandatory education for pet owners is necessary. 48.4% said the punishment level for animal abuse is weak.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

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