This file photo, provided by the Seoul city government, shows an abandoned dog being protected at an animal protection facility in Seoul on March 24, 2022.
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has vowed to halve the number of animals being abandoned or lost every year.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday that it will attempt to reduce the number of animals being abandoned or lost each year to 60,000 by 2027. Last year, the number of abandoned or lost animals reached 120,000.
The government plans to promote the animal registration program to raise the current registration level from 50 percent to 70 percent by 2027.
Specifically, the program will ensure an easy registration process by using biometric data from the animal’s nose wrinkles, and other points of identification and make the registration mandatory in rural areas.
In addition, relevant policies will be revised to deal with situations in which local authorities can adopt a pet if the pet’s owner becomes unavailable due to long-term hospitalization or other circumstances.
Next year, the government will try out a new policy that requires people adopting abandoned animals to submit documented plans for animal rearing.
In addition, the ministry will revamp the system to ensure that pets don’t leave their area of residence without their guardians, and require officetels and other quasi-residential facilities to set limits on the boundaries for pets.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
