Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Conduct Undercover Investigation into 'Illegal Dog Slaughter' Ahead of Boknal

The Horrific Illegal Dog Slaughter Site

Gyeonggi Province is launching a crackdown on illegal dog slaughter ahead of the hottest days of summer.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 9th that starting from the 10th of this month until the end of next month, they plan to conduct stakeouts during vulnerable times such as early mornings in areas suspected of illegal dog slaughter ahead of the summer heat season.

On April 27, Gyeonggi Province amended the Animal Protection Act to protect animal lives and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and animals. The National Assembly also introduced a special bill banning dog meat consumption on the 28th of last month.

The Special Judicial Police will focus their crackdown on "areas of concern for animal abuse," including facilities suspected of illegal slaughter, hard-to-access blind spots, and reports of animal abuse complaints. They will target acts such as ▲killing animals by cruel methods or intentionally withholding food, ▲inflicting pain or injury on animals without justifiable reason, and ▲abandoning animals or capturing and selling or killing abandoned or lost animals.

Under the current Animal Protection Act, causing an animal’s death through abuse is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won, while animal abuse causing injury or disease due to neglect of pet care and management duties is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, stated, "Although public sentiment and awareness have greatly improved compared to the past, the issue of dog meat consumption has been a long-standing custom in our country. Regarding illegal dog slaughter, which is prohibited by law, we plan to strengthen investigations by proactively cracking down on suspected areas within Gyeonggi Province and intensifying investigations when illegal activities are detected."

Gyeonggi Province will conduct investigations into illegal animal-related activities throughout the year, separate from this focused crackdown.

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