A Man in His 60s Who Killed 1,256 Dogs and Cats... Maximum Sentence of 3 Years in Court

Asked to 'take care of it,' brought and starved
Law imposes maximum 3-year sentence under Animal Protection Act

A junkyard owner, Mr. A (67), who starved to death 1,256 dogs and cats while charging a disposal fee of 10,000 won per animal, was sentenced to the maximum penalty under animal abuse laws again in the appellate court.

On the 19th, the Criminal Appeals Division 1-3 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jun-gyu) dismissed Mr. A’s appeal, who was detained and prosecuted for violating the Animal Protection Act, and upheld the original sentence of three years imprisonment.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, International Dog Day, officials from the Korea Animal Protection Alliance held a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul condemning those responsible for the starvation of about 1,000 dogs in Yangpyeong and urging the closure of puppy mills.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

From February 2020 to last March, 32 farm owners selected pets they bred that were considered to have lost commercial value due to old age and handed over a total of 1,256 animals, including 1,243 dogs and 13 cats, to Mr. A. Among them, seven were found to have operated dog farms without a license for animal production business.

Those operating dog farms in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, and other areas sold animals with high commercial value at auctions, while handing over about 700 elderly dogs to Mr. A, paying a disposal fee of 10,000 won per animal.

The dogs handed over to Mr. A were loaded into a sealed refrigerated truck and taken to Mr. A’s junkyard in Yongmun-ri, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. Most of them were found to have died en route to the junkyard.

Under the Animal Protection Act, animal abusers face up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won

The animal rights organization CARE also filed a joint criminal complaint against the abuser in the case and the breeding farm owner who abandoned the dog to the abuser.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In the first trial, the court sentenced Mr. A to the maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, stating, "The defendant collected animals discarded from breeding farms due to loss of commercial value and caused their death by withholding food and water," and added, "Considering the nature and extent of the abuse, the number of animals, and the suffering of the victims, the guilt is very serious."

Mr. A appealed, claiming the sentence was too harsh and unfair, but the appellate court reached the same conclusion.

The appellate court stated, "This crime occurred because the defendant disregarded the lives of animals," and added, "In light of the legislative purpose of the Animal Protection Act, which aims to protect animal life and ensure safety, even considering the defendant’s financial hardship and the responsibility of the farms that sold the animals to him, the original sentence is not excessively harsh or unfair."

Meanwhile, in March, more than 100 people, including representatives from 110 animal organizations, gathered to call for a ban on pet trading, which was the root cause of the incident, and the abolition of breeding facilities and dog farms.

The animal rights organization CARE also jointly filed charges against the abuser in this case and the breeding farm owners who abandoned the dogs to the abuser. CARE commented, "It is only natural that this unprecedented large-scale animal massacre case receives the maximum penalty prescribed by South Korean law."

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