[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City announced on the 24th that it will provide up to 150,000 KRW in adoption fees to households adopting animals from local animal protection centers.
The city decided to support 60% of all adoption-related expenses, including medical fees, treatment costs, vaccinations, animal registration fees, and pet insurance premiums, up to six months from the adoption date. However, animal registration must be completed.
Since the adoption fee support project for lost and abandoned animals was implemented in Incheon in 2018, 2,807 lost and abandoned animals have found new families through 12 animal protection centers. This year, the city plans to support the adoption of 667 lost and abandoned animals.
The city also supports educational programs organized by each district office to foster a mature companion animal culture and improve pet owners' awareness.
These programs include companion animal behavior correction services, companion animal culture lectures, animal protection classes for children, and joint companion animal culture classes, aimed at preventing noise and dog bite accidents through behavior correction of dogs showing problematic behavior.
According to 2020 data from Statistics Korea, there are 194,000 households raising companion animals in Incheon, with a pet ownership rate of 16.9%. This is the third highest nationwide after Jeonnam (18%) and Gangwon (17.2%), exceeding the national average of 15%.
An official from Incheon City stated, "As the population raising companion animals increases, it is important to establish respect for animal life and a proper adoption culture," adding, "We will continue to promote various projects to foster a mature companion animal culture."
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