Gyeonggi Province opened the country’s largest pet complex space, ‘Banryeomaru,’ in Yeoju City last November, and plans to add a pet theme park in the northern Gyeonggi region by 2026.
On the 16th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it recently conducted a preliminary demand survey for the creation of a northern region pet theme park targeting 10 cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi, receiving participation intentions from four cities and counties: Paju, Dongducheon, Pocheon, and Gapyeong.
Gyeonggi Province will prepare a draft plan for the public contest through expert consultation in May, receive applications from cities and counties, and select the final site in July.
Currently, three pet theme parks have been established in the eastern region (Yeoju), western region (Hwaseong), and southern region (Osan).
Banryeomaru Yeoju and Hwaseong were directly developed by Gyeonggi Province, while the Osan pet theme park was created by Osan City in December 2021 with partial financial support from Gyeonggi Province. The pet theme park to be established in northern Gyeonggi will be the fourth.
The creation of the northern region pet theme park is a pledge of the 8th Gyeonggi Province administration and is expected to provide residents in the northern area with quality pet culture benefits.
The northern region pet theme park will be developed as a complex cultural space combining pet adoption and protection areas, animal hospitals, grooming salons, playgrounds, walking trails, campgrounds, counseling rooms, pet culture centers, and animal funeral facilities.
Park Yeon-gyeong, head of the Gyeonggi Province Pet Division, stated, “The establishment of the northern region pet theme park will satisfy the demand for pet welfare in the northern area and play a central role in fostering pet culture there,” adding, “We expect the pet theme park to contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”
Meanwhile, Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province changed the Livestock and Forestry Bureau to the Livestock Animal Welfare Bureau through the first organizational restructuring after his inauguration in July 2022 to promote efficient animal welfare policies in response to the increasing pet ownership population. This animal welfare bureau is the first of its kind nationwide.
In addition, last November, Gyeonggi Province announced the ‘Gyeonggi-type Pet Welfare Policy,’ which envisions ‘realizing Gyeonggi Animal Welfare’ as a vision for a society where humans and animals are happy together.
In September last year, Gyeonggi Province and animal protection organizations collaborated to rescue abused puppies from a breeding facility in Hwaseong City, transferring about 680 of them to Banryeomaru for protection. The rescued animals underwent health checkups, vaccinations, hygiene management, and neutering surgeries, and since October last year, adoptions have been carried out sequentially, with 536 puppies currently finding new families.
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