Muan-gun Youth Community Creates a City Without Abandoned Animals

Published 20 Mar.2023 13:47(KST)

Launched to Establish a Proper Companion Animal Culture

On October 27 last year, Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, launched a local youth community called "Conimal" (CEO Kim Hyun-soo) under the slogan "For a City Without Abandoned Animals" to establish a proper companion animal culture.

Members of the youth community Konimal volunteered at the Muan-gun Animal Shelter and delivered pet food. <br>[Photo by Muan-gun]

Members of the youth community Konimal volunteered at the Muan-gun Animal Shelter and delivered pet food.
[Photo by Muan-gun]

According to Muan-gun on the 20th, the population raising companion animals is increasing due to changes in family composition, economic structure, and psychological factors, to the extent that it is called the era of ten million companion animals. Along with the growing number of companion animals, various industries have emerged, and the companion animal industry is rapidly growing every year.

However, behind the increasing number of companion animals lies the socially painful issue of the rise in abandoned animals.

Despite the growing number of companion animals, there is still a lack of social pet etiquette and insufficient voices from the local community regarding practical problems such as the increase in abandoned animals along with the number of pets.

In response, Conimal was established with the goal of creating a warm city where companion animals and humans coexist by forming a proper companion animal culture.

Conimal is a compound word combining the Latin prefix "Con," meaning "together," and "Animal." The organization consists of CEO Kim Hyun-soo and five local youths.

They will work toward addressing abandoned animal measures due to the rapid growth of the companion animal market, establishing networking for the adoption and temporary protection of abandoned animals, and promoting the responsibility that should be taken when adopting companion animals.

As part of forming a proper companion animal culture, Conimal has conducted activities such as △ delivering gift boxes (containing food, snacks, toys) to adopters of abandoned animals △ volunteering at the Muan-gun abandoned animal shelter and delivering food and supplies △ running electronic billboard campaigns to promote "Don't buy, adopt" and encourage the adoption of abandoned dogs.

CEO Kim Hyun-soo said, "I hope that the various activities, education, and campaigns that Conimal will carry out in the future will serve as a stepping stone to bring society one step closer to coexistence between humans and animals."