'Abandonment of Pet Rearing'... Gyeonggi-do Supports Installation of Crisis Animal Counseling Centers

Gyeonggi Province will support dedicated personnel to enable each city and county to operate a ‘Crisis Animal Counseling Center’ that can provide prompt response and consultation for crisis animals such as animal abuse, abandonment, or relinquishment of care.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 25th, starting with Yangpyeong and Gapyeong in January, ‘Crisis Animal Counseling Centers’ will be sequentially established in nine cities and counties including Yongin, Pyeongtaek, Siheung, Gwangju, Yangju, Guri, and Dongducheon by the end of this year.

The Crisis Animal Counseling Center is based on the revised Animal Protection Act enacted in April last year, serving as a place to discuss solutions with pet owners when animals are relinquished.

The revised Animal Protection Act allows pet owners to apply to the competent city or county for the acceptance of relinquished animals if significant reasons arise that make it difficult to keep their pets (such as long-term hospitalization or care exceeding six months, military service, destruction of residence facilities due to natural disasters, admission to protection facilities for victims of domestic violence, or other reasons recognized by the local government head).

Gyeonggi-do Crisis Animal Counseling Center

The problem is that due to a lack of dedicated personnel, there is insufficient promotion and guidance, resulting in repeated cases of pet abandonment.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province is requiring each city and county to establish Crisis Animal Counseling Centers and is supporting dedicated personnel.

The Crisis Animal Counseling Center provides detailed guidance on the procedures for accepting relinquished animals to pet owners and also supports referrals to problem behavior training centers to prevent cases where pets are relinquished due to behavioral issues.

Park Yeon-gyeong, Director of the Companion Animal Division of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "Pets should be respected as family members, and it is important to help ensure they can be safely cared for without being abandoned even in difficult situations. The establishment of the Crisis Animal Counseling Centers reflects Gyeonggi Province’s companion animal policy that prioritizes animal welfare and stability."

The Crisis Animal Counseling Centers operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and can be contacted through the companion animal-related departments of each city and county.

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