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Korea's Animal Protection Law
Stronger legislation provides new hope for Korean animals
After many years of campaigning and petitioning, IAKA is happy to report that Korea’s Animal Protection Law has recently been amended to include tougher penalties for animal cruelty as well as stronger legislation to address stray and abandoned animals. Additional changes include provisions to allow for better law enforcement by giving power to local governments who can appoint “Animal Protection Officers” to investigate cruelty and seize animals which are being abused. The amended law was passed in January of 2007 and will allow a one-year grace period, going into effect at the beginning of 2008.
Thanks to the committed efforts of our supporters, we have also succeeded in stopping the legislation for “hygienic control” of dog meat as well as the definition of “pet animals” from being included in this amendment. Each of these provisions carried a danger for the newly amended law to encourage dog and cat eating, rather than preventing it. Through “hygienic control,” the government argued that they would be able to prevent cruelty by regulating slaughtering methods, while the “pet animal” definition would have justified a distinction between pet dogs and food dogs. IAKA is very proud of these accomplishments and would like to allow the Korean government time to carry out the new law before making plans for any further aggressive protests.
Positive developments in the new law can be seen in the following changes:
- Maximum fines for animal cruelty will increase from 200,000 Won ($215) to 5,000,000 Won ($5,370).
- Language regarding the slaughter of animals is much more specific. The old law specified that one “could not kill an animal without a rational reason,” while the new law specifies that animals cannot be killed by hanging, killed in an open area or on a street, nor killed in front of other animals.
- Local governments will have the power to appoint an Animal Protection Officer who can take animals away from abusers and take necessary measures such as handing them to rescue organizations or vets to protect animals and prevent further abuse.
- Pet owners will be required to place ID tags and safety harnesses on their animals when taken outdoors or face fines up to 300,000 Won ($320).
- The use of animals in indiscriminate laboratory testing will be prohibited.
- Extraction of fluids from animals will be prohibited unless for the purposes of the animals’ health or veterinary diagnostics.
- Acts of causing harm to animals for the purpose of gambling, advertisement and entertainment will be prohibited.
- For animals transported in vehicles, caretakers will need to provide adequate food, avoid rough driving, and use vehicles suitably equipped to prevent injury.