Firefighters Cut Each Leash...Wildfire with Minimal Pet Damage

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Recently, during the process of extinguishing a wildfire that occurred in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, it was reported that the damage to animals was less severe than in other large wildfires, thanks to firefighters cutting the leashes of pets one by one.

On the 12th, activists from Animal Freedom Coalition visited the Gangneung area, where the large wildfire occurred, to conduct a damage survey on animals. The activists were worried about how horrific the situation would be when heading to Gangneung.

On the 12th, activists from Animal Freedom Coalition visited the Gangneung area, where a large wildfire occurred, to conduct a survey on animal damage.
[Photo by Animal Freedom Coalition Instagram]

In fact, at the wildfire sites in Goseong and Sokcho in 2019 and the Uljin wildfire site last year, it was not uncommon to see dogs found dead, unable to escape because they were tied to leashes. Even if they did not die, many pets were found severely burned or charred.

However, the activists reported that the Gangneung wildfire site was definitely different from previous years. In particular, the firefighters and volunteer firefighters who helped pets escape during the fire suppression process played a big role.

Song Ji-seong, head of the Crisis Animal Response Team at Animal Freedom Coalition, said, "It was confirmed that firefighters and volunteer firefighters cut the leashes early in the fire to help pets escape," adding, "It was also confirmed that there were almost no pets that were frightened or lost."

Team leader Song said, "Unlike other wildfires, it seems that the fire suppression work was carried out with consideration for animal damage," and "The scale of damage was definitely smaller than in previous wildfire sites."

Damage to livestock such as chickens, Ogolgae, and goats remains compared to pets

Of course, the reason the damage to pets was small in this wildfire incident was because the affected area was not large and the number of households raising pets was low since it is a tourist area. However, the coalition believes that awareness of pets has definitely increased.

The coalition explained that about three pets were found dead due to this wildfire. However, the pet dog (Jindo dog) of an elderly resident in their 80s who died at the wildfire site was confirmed to have suffered severe leg injuries. The pet dog, having lost its owner, is currently in the custody of the Gangneung City animal shelter.

The coalition estimates that about 10 pets have been handed over to the Gangneung City shelter. However, compared to pet dogs and cats, damage to livestock such as chickens, Ogolgae, and goats remained significant. According to the wildfire damage tally announced by Gangneung City that day, 174 chickens died at farms in the area.

At previous large wildfires on the East Coast, it was common to see pet dogs tied tightly to leashes, found dead, but the Gangneung wildfire site was different. Even amid the desperate firefighting efforts, volunteer firefighters first untied the leashes of the dogs, and disaster victims are enduring the inconvenience of living with their pets despite the horrific situation.

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