"Animals That Cannot Speak" Fed Pesticides and Physically Mutilated... The Long Road Ahead for Animal Rights

8.6 Million Pets in South Korea, 1 Pet per 6 People
Animal Abuse Dramatically Increases... 13-Fold Surge in Last 9 Years
Methods Vary and Become More Cruel, Including Poisoned Bait and Eye Damage
Experts Urge Strengthening Law Enforcement's Capacity to Handle Animal Abuse Cases

A Maltese named Sunsu with damaged mouth and nose (above) and a stray dog found in Anseong, Gyeonggi, with severely injured eyes. / Photo by Instagram, Animal Protection Management System

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] #Last February, several cats were found dead in a group in the underground parking lot of an apartment in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. After the police responded to the report and investigated the case, it was revealed that the cats died after eating food laced with insecticide. A resident in their 70s of the apartment, who admitted to smearing insecticide on the cat food bowl, told the police, "I committed the act because they cried loudly every night."

#On the 22nd of last month, a stray dog was found collapsed in Balhwadong, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. This dog, not yet fully grown, was in a horrific state with both eyes ruptured and its face covered in pus. The stray dog was immediately transported to a nearby animal hospital and underwent emergency surgery, but it lost its eyesight permanently.

As brutal animal abuse cases continue to occur, social outrage is growing. Although the number of households raising companion animals has increased, leading to more interactions between people and animals, there are criticisms that animal rights protection remains insufficient. Experts advise that the police need to secure specialized response capabilities for animal abuse cases.

It is not a new issue that stray cats and abandoned dogs suffer due to animal abuse. Previously, in 2016, a man in his 70s named Kim was prosecuted and fined for allegedly smearing rat poison on chicken meat and feeding it to cats.

Chicken mixed with blue rat poison found near an abandoned house in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. / Photo by Daejeon Stray Cat Protection Association

Kim, who committed this crime in Sintanjin, Daejeon, and was nicknamed the 'Sintanjin Cat Killer,' was caught by citizens in 2018, two years later, while spreading rat poison near the crime scene. However, the prosecution decided not to indict Kim due to insufficient evidence, as no cat carcasses that died from rat poison were found.

Meanwhile, in May of last year, social outrage erupted when the story of a Maltese dog named 'Sunsu,' whose snout and nose were mutilated, became known. Sunsu was found on a street in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, with its mouth and nose cut off and its neck tightened with a cable tie.

Sunsu barely recovered health after undergoing eight surgeries at animal hospitals and university hospitals, but facial reconstruction was impossible, and it is reported that the dog still struggles to breathe.

Although the number of households raising companion animals has surged nationwide, criticism remains that awareness of 'animal rights,' which values and protects animal life, is still lacking.

According to the '2020 National Awareness Survey on Animal Protection' announced earlier by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the proportion of households raising companion animals in Korea has increased every year from 17.4% in 2010 to 27.7% last year. Accordingly, as of last year, the number of companion dogs reached 6.02 million, and companion cats numbered 2.58 million, totaling 8.6 million. This means there is approximately one companion animal for every six people.

Despite increased contact between companion animals and people, animal abuse has surged significantly. According to the police, the number of cases violating the Animal Protection Act was only 69 in 2010 but increased more than 13 times to 914 cases in 2019, nine years later.

Abandoned animals at Jeju Animal Shelter. / Photo by Yonhap News

Citizens have expressed outrage over the successive brutal animal abuse cases.

A 20-year-old office worker A, who owns a companion animal, said, "I can't understand how someone can do such things to animals that cannot speak," and expressed anger, saying, "There are still many people who treat animals as objects rather than equal lives."

Another office worker B (31) said, "I think animal abuse doesn't decrease because society does not consider killing or tormenting animals as a serious crime," and argued, "Those who abuse animals should be punished appropriately."

Experts have suggested that specialized responses from investigative agencies are necessary to prevent animal abuse cases.

The civic group Animal Freedom Coalition pointed out in its report last year titled 'Problems and Revision Directions of the Police Agency's Animal Abuse Investigation Manual' that "the number of suspects violating the Animal Protection Act has surged over the past 10 years, and the types and methods of animal abuse have also diversified," emphasizing "the increasing need for specialized investigations."

They added, "Animal abuse cases mostly occur in private spaces, and since the victim animals cannot testify directly, more accurate and diverse evidence is required to prove the cases," and advised, "To prove the cases and ensure the safety of abused animals, prompt judgment and investigation by the police are essential. It is necessary to strengthen response capabilities at abuse scenes through revision and supplementation of the current animal abuse investigation manual."

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