Both Eyes Damaged, Nose and Mouth Cut Off... Ongoing Abuse of Abandoned Animals Sparks Public Outrage

Repeated Occurrences of 'Cruel' Animal Abuse Causing Facial Disfigurement
Animal Protection Law Violations Increase Over 13 Times in the Past 9 Years
"Doing This to Animals That Can't Speak"... Citizens Outraged
Experts Call for a Comprehensive Animal Abuse Response Manual

Abandoned dog with damaged eyes / Photo by Animal Protection Management System

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Both eyes were damaged, and the nose and mouth were cut off. These are the injury areas suffered by animals in recent animal abuse cases involving abandoned animals, which have become a social issue. The abused animals will live with physical disabilities for the rest of their lives.

As cruel abuse cases targeting animals abandoned by their owners or temporarily lost pets continue to occur, public outrage is growing. Experts advise that it is necessary to establish a comprehensive manual for protecting abandoned animals and preventing animal abuse incidents in advance.

According to Anseong City in Gyeonggi Province on the 2nd, on the 22nd of last month, a city-affiliated abandoned animal capture officer received a report of a brown Jindo mix dog presumed to be collapsed in Balhwadong. The officer who arrived at the scene found a young dog with both eyes ruptured and its face covered in pus.

The abandoned dog was urgently transferred to a nearby hospital, where it underwent eye removal and suturing surgery and recovered its health. Although there was no major threat to life, the dog lost its eyesight permanently. The veterinarian who examined the dog commented, "It seems to be an abused dog."

Based on this information, the city requested an investigation from the Anseong Police Station on the 27th of last month. The police plan to ascertain the specific details of the case through the owner's statements and analysis of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

Maltese dog 'Sunsu' with damaged nose and mouth / Photo by Instagram capture

Brutal abuse cases targeting ownerless abandoned animals continue unabated. Previously, in May last year, the story of a Maltese named 'Sunsu' whose snout and nose were mutilated sparked social outrage.

Sunsu was found on a street in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, with its mouth and nose cut off and its neck tightened with a cable tie, and was sent to a nearby abandoned animal shelter. Sunsu underwent eight surgeries at animal hospitals and university hospitals and eventually recovered health, but facial reconstruction was impossible, and breathing remained difficult.

The individual volunteer who temporarily cared for Sunsu posted a petition on the Blue House National Petition Board in February, stating, "It is presumed that Sunsu was injured due to abuse," and criticized, "Despite many people calling for strict punishment of animal abuse, such abuse continues because of a weak sense of respect for life."

The number of animal abuse reports is sharply increasing. According to data from the National Police Agency, cases of violations of the Animal Protection Act, which were only 69 in 2010, surged to 914 in 2019, increasing more than 13 times over ten years.

The number of animal protection law violation cases has increased more than 13 times over the past 9 years. / Photo by Yonhap News

Citizens are expressing outrage over the series of brutal animal abuse cases. A 20-year-old office worker A, who owns a pet, said, "How can someone do such a thing to animals that cannot even speak?" and expressed anger, saying, "Animal abuse should be treated as a cruel and serious crime."

Another office worker B (31) said, "I saw a photo of an abandoned dog with eye injuries, and even the mosaic-covered photo was horrifying," and urged, "I believe the abuser should receive punishment commensurate with their crime."

Experts suggested that professional responses from related agencies are necessary for animal abuse cases.

The civic group Animal Freedom Coalition posted on its official website last year, stating, "Although social consensus for strict punishment and active investigation of animal abuse cases is growing, our society's response capability to animal abuse incidents is very insufficient," and advised, "A systematic and comprehensive animal abuse response manual that can be used in the field is necessary."

They added, "It is essential to enable the rescue of animals through quick and accurate incident responses, to allow witnesses and frontline personnel at abuse scenes to promptly protect animals in danger, and furthermore, to prevent increasingly diverse and brutal animal abuse cases in advance."