Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Launch Emergency Investigation into Animal Abuse Cases

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare will conduct a large-scale investigation into animal abuse acts until the end of this month.

Gyeonggi Province will launch an emergency investigation to prevent the recurrence of a similar dog abuse incident in Yangpyeong.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 21st that it will conduct an emergency investigation targeting 'areas of concern for animal abuse' by deploying 110 personnel across 25 teams in 13 investigation units until the 31st of this month.

Through this investigation, the special judicial police will focus on cracking down on ▲ acts that cause death by cruel methods or intentionally withholding food or water from animals ▲ acts that inflict physical pain or injury without justifiable reason ▲ violations of safety measures such as leash obligations that result in bodily harm to people ▲ acts of abandoning animals or capturing and selling or killing abandoned or lost animals.

They will also investigate illegal operations related to companion animals, such as animal production businesses, animal funeral services, and animal sales businesses that operate without proper permits or registration.

According to the current Animal Protection Act, acts of abuse causing death are punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won, while animal abuse causing disease or injury due to violations of companion animal care and management duties, and unlicensed business activities related to companion animals, are punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, stated, "As the population caring for companion animals increases, awareness of companion animal welfare is improving, but blind spots still exist. We plan to further strengthen preemptive inspections of areas at risk of animal abuse and crack down on illegal activities in companion animal business facilities to eradicate animal abuse and related illegal acts."

In addition to this emergency investigation, the special judicial police will conduct planned investigations of illegal activities related to animals throughout the year. To this end, they are also accepting reports related to such illegal activities.

Earlier, on the 18th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon posted on his social media (SNS), "Recently, about 1,200 dogs were found dead at a junkyard in Yangpyeong. This horrific incident involved dogs that were not sold at breeding farms being taken for money and starved to death." He added, "During March, we will conduct a comprehensive inspection of animal abuse risk areas such as auction sites and breeding farms, and crack down on illegal activities in companion animal-related facilities to do our best to prevent a second or third Yangpyeong junkyard incident."

Meanwhile, starting from the 27th of next month, an amendment to the Animal Protection Act, which strengthens the safety management obligations for companion dogs, will be enforced. The main points include expanding the scope of permits from the existing animal production business to include sales, import, and funeral services to strengthen management of indiscriminate business operations. It also strengthens the responsibilities of companion animal owners by requiring registered animals to wear leashes and take safety measures to prevent harm.