The Era of 3 Million Companion Dogs... 290,000 Newly Registered Last Year Alone

2022 Survey on Companion Animal Protection and Welfare
Among 113,000 Rescued Animals Last Year, 30,000 Were Adopted

The number of registered companion dogs exceeded 3 million last year. In 2022 alone, 290,000 new registrations were recorded.

On the 13th, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency announced the results of the "2022 Companion Animal Protection and Welfare Survey" containing this information.

This survey was based on data collected through local governments on animal registrations, rescue and protection of lost and abandoned animals, and companion animal business status nationwide (17 cities/provinces, 228 cities/counties/districts) as of the end of 2022.

The survey results showed that 290,958 companion dogs were newly registered, bringing the total to 3,025,859 dogs registered (a 9.4% increase compared to 2021). The main registration types were implantable microchips inserted under the skin, accounting for 1,506,650 dogs (49.8%), and external microchips for 1,160,305 dogs (38.3%), enabling over 88% of registered companion dogs to be managed via microchips. Since 2021, new registrations using simple identification tags instead of microchips have been prohibited.

Animal protection centers responsible for rescue and protection measures operate a total of 239 facilities meeting standards. Among them, 68 centers are directly established and operated by cities/counties/districts (direct management), and 171 centers are entrusted to private institutions such as animal hospitals designated by local governments. As of the end of 2022, the total number of staff operating animal protection centers was 893, with operating costs amounting to 29.48 billion KRW. The average protection period for rescued animals was 26 days.

In 2022, animal protection centers rescued 113,440 animals (a 4.1% decrease compared to 2021), of which 31,182 animals (27.5%) were adopted, representing the largest proportion. Natural deaths accounted for 30,490 animals (26.9%), humane euthanasia for 19,043 animals (16.8%), return to owners for 14,031 animals (12.4%), and animals still under protection numbered 14,157 (12.5%).

The trap-neuter-return program for stray cats, promoted as a policy project, has continuously expanded since 2018. In 2022 alone, 104,434 stray cats underwent neutering surgeries.

The number of companion animal businesses, including animal sales and exhibition companies, slightly decreased; however, thanks to increases in grooming and transportation businesses, the total number of businesses rose by 6.7% compared to 2021, reaching 22,076 locations. The number of employees at these businesses also increased by 4.9% to 26,093 people.

Additionally, there are 812 local government animal protection officers, and the number of violations of the Animal Protection Act reached 1,181 cases, increasing by 7% and 10% respectively compared to 2021. Major violations included failure to wear leashes or identification tags, violating care obligations (60.8%), unregistered companion dogs (16%), and unregistered or unauthorized businesses (4.1%).

Lee Myung-heon, Director of the Animal Disease Management Department at the Quarantine Agency, stated, "As the number of households raising companion animals increases, interest in animal protection and welfare is also growing. Besides regularly publishing survey results, the Quarantine Agency plans to improve systems so that information and statistics related to animal protection and welfare can be displayed in real time, strengthening the management of rescued animals and effectively providing necessary information to the public and local governments."