[Stray Dogs in Crisis]② 80,000 Strays Annually... Need to Encourage Registration and Revise Adoption Procedures

Increase in Animal Registration Leads to Decrease in Abandoned Dogs
Owners Still Feel Reluctant and Burdened
Easy Adoption Process... "Time for Bonding Is Necessary"

To prevent the loss and abandonment of companion dogs, South Korea has been operating the 'Animal Registration System' since 2014. However, tens of thousands of companion dogs are still abandoned every year. There are calls to improve procedures by establishing support measures that can encourage owners who feel burdened or concerned about registering their dogs, as well as strengthening related education from the adoption stage.

According to the '2022 Companion Animal Survey' conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, one out of three abandoned dogs fails to find their owner and dies at animal protection centers. Last year, 37.5% of abandoned dogs at animal protection centers died naturally or were humanely euthanized. The euthanasia rate for abandoned dogs has increased. Last year, 22.1% of all abandoned dogs were euthanized, up 1.8 percentage points from 20.3% the previous year. According to the Ministry’s 'Guidelines for Humane Treatment of Animals,' abandoned animals can be selected for euthanasia due to reasons such as the shelter’s capacity, treatment costs, and aggression. This means that more than 17,000 abandoned dogs are euthanized each year because they are difficult to manage.

◆ The Effect of the 'Animal Registration System' on Reducing Abandoned Dogs... Owner Burden Remains = The Animal Registration System, which requires owners to report and register companion dogs over two months old with the local government, has the effect of reducing abandoned animals. When the animal’s identification tag is scanned or searched, the owner’s name and address can be found, so registered animals quickly return to their owners. Five years after its implementation in 2014, the cumulative number of registered companion dogs exceeded 2 million for the first time in 2019, and as of last year, the cumulative registrations reached 3,025,859. As the Animal Registration System has taken root, the number of abandoned dogs has also been decreasing. The number of abandoned dogs was 102,363 in 2019, 92,561 in 2020, 84,723 in 2021, and 80,393 last year, showing a gradual decline.

However, a significant number of owners still feel burdened by or do not recognize the necessity of registering their companion dogs. According to the Ministry’s '2022 Public Awareness Survey on Animal Protection,' 23.0% of respondents raising companion dogs (961 people) did not register their dogs. The main reasons for not registering were 'not feeling the necessity' (27.6%) and 'the registration method and procedures are complicated' (27.1%). Although there are no health problems, owners also feel resistance to the internal identification tags because they are implanted inside the dog’s body. To reduce this resistance, there is an opinion that promotion is needed so that related education can be received at the adoption stage. Currently, pre-adoption education for companion dogs is conducted online and offline at the 'Animal Love Learning Center' operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It informs not only the necessity of animal registration but also breed characteristics, possible channels for animal adoption, and necessary supplies. Kim Young-hwan, CEO of the animal protection organization CARE, said, "Owners who do not register despite knowing about the Animal Registration System are confident that they will not lose their animals," adding, "Education should inform them of the benefits that animal registration brings."

Practical support measures to encourage registration are also needed. To implant an internal identification tag in a companion dog, owners must pay 10,000 to 20,000 KRW for the tag and about 40,000 to 50,000 KRW for the procedure at a veterinary hospital. Although animal registration agencies can be searched on the National Animal Protection Information System, most do not raise the price of the tags, so owners may face unexpected procedure costs at veterinary hospitals. Seoul City supports the procedure at 10,000 KRW for 13,000 companion dogs this year, but other local governments do not provide separate financial support due to budget reasons.

◆ Adoption Takes 30 Minutes... "Time for Bonding is Needed" = There are also opinions that the adoption procedure for abandoned dogs needs to be revised. Currently, after inquiring at the shelter, applicants fill out and send a preliminary questionnaire or form, then visit the site to sign the necessary documents to complete the procedure. The time taken to adopt an abandoned dog is less than 30 minutes. However, there is no time for the dog and owner to get to know each other, so when problem behaviors appear at home, owners often struggle. In severe cases, abandoned dogs are re-abandoned. According to the Ministry’s survey, 22.1% of respondents considered giving up or abandoning their companion animals, with the most common reason being 'problem behaviors such as property damage and barking' (28.8%).

Experts point to Germany as a model case. Germany, where the re-adoption rate of abandoned dogs reaches 95%, is a country where companion dogs can only be adopted from animal protection centers, and the procedures are strict. First, applicants must visit three times over a certain period to bond with the abandoned dog. Beyond simply bonding, they assess whether the applicant has the willingness to raise the dog and whether the abandoned dog has problem behaviors. Also, to confirm that all family members agree to the adoption, the whole family must visit the animal protection center together and complete education. This pre-adoption education is mandatory. Lim Sung-gyu, director of the Korea Animal Rescue Management Association, said, "Since animal protection centers cannot manage abandoned dogs after adoption, thorough verification is needed from the moment of adoption," adding, "Just briefly observing is not enough to know everything about the abandoned dog. There needs to be a bonding period of about 3 to 6 months."

There are also suggestions that active national-level support is needed for animal registration and abandoned dog-related issues. Lee Jin-hong, professor at Konkuk University’s Companion Animal Legal Counseling Center, said, "As the number of companion dog households increases, the possibility of abandoned dogs occurring over the next 5 to 10 years also grows, so countermeasures are needed," adding, "Above all, related systems must be revised to sanction and encourage people who do not register or abandon companion dogs to prevent abandoned dogs from occurring."