To Prevent Abandonment of Companion Dogs... Voluntary Registration Reporting Period Until the End of September

No Fines If You Just Register

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government will operate a voluntary animal registration reporting period for two months starting from the 19th to reduce the number of abandoned companion dogs.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 18th that it will operate the voluntary reporting period from the 19th to September 30th to encourage the voluntary participation of companion dog owners.

According to the Animal Protection Act, an animal registration application must be submitted to the city, county, or district office within 30 days from the date of acquiring ownership of the animal or the date the animal becomes subject to registration (when the animal reaches 2 months old). If the owner, the owner's personal information, or the registered animal changes or the registered animal dies, it must be reported within 30 days. Failure to register results in a fine of up to 1 million KRW, and failure to report changes results in a fine of up to 500,000 KRW. Since February, abandoning animals has been classified as a crime, with penalties raised from fines to imprisonment or fines up to 3 million KRW.

The Ministry emphasized that during the voluntary reporting period, new registrations or changes to existing registration information will be exempt from fines. Additionally, starting in October, after the voluntary reporting period ends, there will be focused inspections on animal registration status, ID tags, and leash use in parks and walking trails, with fines imposed for violations.

According to the Ministry, animal registration is the only way to find lost companion animals. During the voluntary reporting period in 2019 (July to August), over 330,000 animals were newly registered, reversing the increasing trend of lost and abandoned animals over the previous six years. This was possible because the number of new registrations that year was 16 times higher than in 2018. In the first half of this year, the number of lost and abandoned animals was 56,697, a 13% decrease compared to 65,148 in the first half of the previous year.

Kim Jong-gu, Director of Agricultural Life Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "Raising companion animals comes with duties and responsibilities," and added, "We ask companion animal owners to actively participate in creating a culture of respect and consideration for companion animals."

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