Between 'Animal Advocacy vs. Hatred'... We Must Find a Path to Coexistence

[Animal Hardship Era] ② Conflict Between Animal Lovers and Animal Phobics

Avoidance of Animals Due to Fear
1 in 10 People Have Animal Phobia

Fear Should Not Lead to Hatred
Spreading Awareness That 'Animal Abuse Is a Crime'
Animal Abuse Linked to Crimes Against Humans
Desensitization to Guilt Toward Humans

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Seungyoon Song] A significant portion of animal abuse is analyzed to stem from animal phobia (the phenomenon of being unable to be close to animals due to fear). The recent stray cat abuse incident that occurred on the 12th at Dongmyo Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is closely related to animal phobia. Some merchants at Dongmyo Market committed severe abuse by stabbing stray cats with long metal skewers, tying them to ropes and throwing them, and strangling them. A pregnant cat suffered, vomiting blood, and a merchant put the cat into a box and took it away. The merchant involved claimed, "I was scared because the cat was big," expressing animal phobia.

This kind of animal phobia is known to belong to the category of 'innate fear' that cannot be easily cured even with psychiatric treatment. Research shows that about one in ten people suffer from animal phobia. The targets vary widely, including bees, spiders, birds, snakes, and cockroaches. However, animal lovers acknowledge the issue of animal phobia but insist it should not lead to animal hate crimes. Cho Heekyung, head of Animal Freedom Coalition, pointed out, "There is a clear international recognition that this is antisocial behavior," adding, "Animal abuse starts as a violation of animal rights but carries a significant risk of expanding into human society."

A bigger problem is that animal phobia can also act as a cause of conflicts between people. Especially, anger from animal phobia sufferers toward caretakers such as cat moms who protect stray cats often leads to animal abuse crimes. Park Jooyeon, co-representative of the Animal Rights Research Lawyers Group PNR, explained, "When examining animal abuse crimes, most perpetrators had hatred toward animals," and "It escalates into conflicts between those who advocate for animals and those who hate them."

Professor Gong Jeongsik of Kyonggi University's Department of Criminal Psychology also argues that animal abuse has a strong likelihood of leading to crimes against humans. Professor Gong said, "Various investigative agencies worldwide have presented research results showing that animal abuse affects humans as well," adding, "When criminals experience taking an animal's life, their guilt or fear significantly decreases and they become desensitized, which can be applied to humans."

Experts suggest that for animal phobia not to lead to animal abuse, awareness improvement on both sides must occur simultaneously. Experiencing animal phobia does not justify animal abuse, so spreading the perception that animal abuse is a serious crime is urgently needed.

Both Cho and Park emphasized, "Until now, although animal abuse is a crime punishable by imprisonment, many cases have resulted in light penalties if they did not become social issues," and "Investigative agencies and the judiciary must investigate animal abuse cases more actively and impose severe punishments to instill the awareness that such behavior is wrong throughout society."

Meanwhile, many opinions hold that coexistence between both sides is possible only when pet owners also comply with rules, show consideration, and maintain interest to cope with socially existing animal phobia.