Even Cat Owners Must Register Cats... Taeyoungho Proposes Law to Mandate 'Cat Animal Registration'

Tae Young-ho, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Animal registration, currently mandatory only for companion dogs, is expected to be expanded to cats as well.

On the 25th, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, announced via social networking service (SNS) that he will propose a bill to mandate 'cat animal registration' next month.

The current animal registration system is mandatory only for companion dogs. For companion cats, a pilot project has been underway since 2018, and it was expanded nationwide from February 1 of this year, but it is not yet mandatory.

The reason Tae aims to make cat animal registration mandatory is to prevent abandonment and relinquishment. He stated, "In the case of dogs, since animal registration is mandatory, owners can be identified and punished when found, but for cats, as they are not subject to animal registration, it is practically very difficult to find the owner when abandoned."

The bill includes a provision to mandate the use of implanted radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices due to the physical characteristics of cats. Tae said, "Those who intentionally abandon registered animals can be punished under animal abandonment laws, and reducing the number of abandoned animals can also resolve conflicts among local residents caused by stray cats."