Last Year’s Comprehensive 5-Year Animal Welfare Plan Established, 700 Million KRW Invested This Year
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 20th that it will invest 700 million KRW to promote various animal welfare projects with the goal of creating a "city where people and companion animals are happy together," according to the five-year comprehensive animal welfare plan established last year.
This year, the city will activate the implantation-type companion animal registration and, based on this, support companion animal registration fees, promote neutering projects for yard dogs, and provide medical expense support for companion animals of low-income households.
In addition, to protect lost and abandoned animals and ensure citizen safety, the city operates an abandoned animal protection center, supports adoption costs for abandoned animals, and promotes a wild dog capture project. The city will also control the population of stray cats by expanding the stray cat neutering project.
Along with this, efforts will continue to enhance animal welfare through strengthened promotion of animal welfare and pet etiquette campaigns, inspection and management of companion animal businesses, and operation of honorary animal protection monitors and educators.
Applications for animal welfare support projects are accepted and processed through each eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare center, as well as the city hall website.
Additionally, the “Bunseongsan Companion Animal Theme Park” is being developed with the goal of opening in 2023, creating a space where companion dogs can freely run and play. In the mid to long term, the city plans to expand companion animal welfare infrastructure such as dog playgrounds and comprehensive companion animal support centers by linking with rural theme park projects.
A city official said, “By establishing animal welfare infrastructure and supporting the settlement of an animal welfare culture, we will resolve conflicts between pet owners and non-pet owners and foster a mature companion animal culture, making the city a place where people and companion animals are happy together.”
Meanwhile, as of December 2021, 61,000 households, accounting for 27% of all households in Gimhae, are raising about 75,000 companion animals, of which 21,157 households (35%) have registered their companion animals.
There are a total of 330 companion animal-related facilities in the Gimhae area, including 48 animal hospitals, 53 animal sales businesses, 120 animal grooming businesses, 62 animal boarding businesses, and 4 animal funeral businesses, as well as exhibition and transportation businesses, accounting for 20% of the total in Gyeongnam Province.
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