[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Yong-chul] Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced improvement measures for the operation of the Boseong-gun Abandoned Animal Protection Center on the 14th to realize the animal rights of abandoned animals and to properly implement the purpose of operating the protection center by actively accepting the opinions of animal protection organizations.
According to Boseong-gun on the 14th, the county temporarily switched the operation of the Boseong-gun Abandoned Animal Protection Center, which was outsourced, to a direct management system on the 10th after issues related to the euthanasia of abandoned dogs were raised.
Subsequently, personnel actions were taken for the person in charge and the section chief, and they were reassigned as professional public officials.
On the 11th, the county mobilized quarantine vehicles to conduct emergency disinfection at the protection center, dispatched a public veterinarian to administer vaccinations against canine enteritis, applied skin disease treatments, and administered deworming medication to check the health status. Going forward, a public veterinarian will visit regularly every week to monitor the health status of abandoned animals.
First, instead of the original method of separating protection rooms based on the admission date and the size of the dog breed, the protection rooms are being rearranged considering the size and gender of the breed. As a mid-term measure, improvements to the protection rooms to allow individual housing are under review.
This weekend, foundation work around the shelter will be carried out to remodel the protection facility, built in 2018, into an animal-friendly environment by actively accepting the demands of the Animal Protection Association.
The Boseong-gun Abandoned Animal Protection Center had been operated with floor-type enclosures rather than cages, but plans are underway to install a 15cm-high platform covering one-third of the shelter floor area so that animals can live in a comfortable environment even after water cleaning.
Also, since abandoned animals usually suffer from pre-existing diseases and often die after admission to the shelter, equipment purchases and facility maintenance will be promoted to create an environment where the purpose of the “Animal Protection Act” can be maximally realized.
To increase the adoption rate, discussions are underway on supporting treatment and grooming costs for adopters of abandoned animals, and plans are in place to operate volunteer programs for caring for abandoned dogs and to form volunteer groups for abandoned dogs.
County Governor Kim Cheol-woo said, “Boseong-gun recognizes this matter as very serious and is doing its best to improve it,” adding, “This incident is an opportunity to promote more active discussions on animal rights and to foster a responsible awareness of companion animals.”
He continued, “Furthermore, to solve the fundamental cause of the abandoned dog problem, which is the abandonment of companion animals, we will actively promote the companion animal registration system and demand institutional improvements at the national level.”
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