Holding a Dog's Leash and Spinning Around, Parents Say "It's Not Animal Abuse"... What About Life Sensitivity Education for Minors?

A Child Swinging a Dog Like a Yo-Yo... Parents 'Defend'
Minors Involved in 'Animal Nth Room' Abuse
"Systematic and Continuous Life Respect Education Needed"

Recently, an incident occurred where a child was swinging a pet dog's leash back and forth like a yo-yo. Photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Getty Images]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Amid an incident where a young child swung a dog leash like a yo-yo, controversy has arisen over the child's parents' attitude of dismissing it as "not animal abuse." As adults' complacent awareness of animal abuse can affect children's sensitivity to life, voices are calling for strengthening animal rights education.

Recently, an incident occurred in a park where a child held a pet dog's leash and swung it like a yo-yo. The incident became known after a witness who filmed the scene posted the video on an online community. The video showed the child holding the leash and roughly handling the dog by swinging it in the air and spinning it around. The dog hit the ground several times and struggled in the air.

The witness said, "The child was playing yo-yo with the dog, and even when I shouted at the child to stop, they did not," adding, "I recorded it as evidence and reported it to the police." When the police responded to the report, the child's parents reportedly stated that it was "not animal abuse."

As it became known that the parents defended the child's inappropriate behavior, netizens criticized the low awareness of animal abuse. Given that juvenile animal abuse issues have previously surfaced through the so-called "animal version of the n-room" case, there are calls to expand life sensitivity education that teaches minors to respect other lives.

There is growing public opinion that attention must be paid to so-called 'sensitivity to life' as animal abuse occurs frequently. [Image source=Pixabay]

The "animal version of the n-room" was a case that sparked national outrage when it was revealed that over 80 people gathered in a KakaoTalk open chat room named "Gore Specialist Room" last January to conspire animal abuse and share photos and videos of abuse. They shared methods of capturing stray cats and wild animals and cruel ways to kill them, and exchanged numerous videos and photos of actual animal killings.

Civil organizations such as Animal Freedom Coalition and Animal Rights Action Kara reported the case to the police, who identified three suspects, including Jo, in April of the same year and sent them to the prosecution on charges including violation of the Animal Protection Act.

According to the police investigation, dozens of the 80 participants in the chat room were minors, including middle school students. Only three of them faced legal action: Jo, the leader of the "Gore Specialist Room," was fined 3 million won and summarily indicted for uploading videos showing cruel killings of stray cats, dogs, and rats (violating the Animal Protection Act); Lee, the enforcer, received a four-month prison sentence with a two-year probation; the remaining one was sent to juvenile court due to being a minor.

Choi Min-kyung, team leader of the Policy Action Team at Animal Rights Action Kara, pointed out, "The low penalties for animal abuse influence complacent awareness of animal rights. In countries like Germany, specific regulations such as mandatory walking are clearly stated regarding animal abuse, but domestically, abuse tends to be recognized only when physical violence causes bleeding."

She continued, "If parents are insensitive to animal abuse, children find it difficult to develop sensitivity toward animals. When minors witness animal abuse on SNS or online communities, cases of participation in animal abuse, like in the Gore Specialist Room case, also appear," she explained. Team leader Choi emphasized, "Beyond simple education like 'let's love animals,' systematic and continuous education is needed, such as incorporating life respect education including animal rights into character education programs."

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