Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency Announces Results of the '2023 Companion Animal Protection and Welfare Survey'
The cumulative number of registered companion dogs and cats with local governments reached 3.29 million last year, showing a 7.6% increase compared to the previous year.
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the results of the "2023 Companion Animal Protection and Welfare Survey" containing this information on the 23rd.
The Quarantine Agency conducts and publishes annual surveys on the status of companion animal protection and welfare, including animal registration by local governments, rescue and protection of lost and abandoned animals, and companion animal business operations.
New Companion Cat Registrations Increase by 13,000... "To Prevent Loss"
In 2023, new registrations of dogs and cats decreased by 10.4% to 271,000 from 303,000 last year, but the cumulative number of registered animals increased by 7.6% to 3.286 million from 3.054 million last year.
Although registering companion cats is voluntary, new registrations have increased to prevent animal loss. The numbers rose from 9,000 in 2021 to 11,000 in 2022, and 13,000 in 2023.
For companion dogs, which are subject to mandatory registration, external tags such as collar-type devices that are easy to remove were preferred in the past, but internal microchip implants have steadily increased, narrowing the gap between external and internal types from 9 percentage points in 2021 to 2.8 percentage points last year.
In 2023, new registrations by women (60.9%) were about 1.6 times higher than those by men (38.9%). By age group, owners in their 40s accounted for the largest share at 25.1%, followed by those in their 30s (22.1%), 20s (22.0%), and 50s (16.2%).
113,000 Lost and Abandoned Animals Rescued... 40% Returned to Owners or Adopted
Reports and rescues of lost and abandoned animals have been decreasing, with 113,000 animals rescued in 2023, a 0.3% decrease from the previous year. Among them, 44,000 (39.2%) were returned to their owners or adopted/donated, 31,000 (27.6%) died naturally, and 20,000 (18.0%) were humanely euthanized. Additionally, 15,000 (13.3%) were being cared for at local government animal protection centers.
The number of adoptions of rescued animals decreased by 12.3% to 27,000 compared to 31,000 the previous year, alongside the decline in new registrations. The adoption rate relative to new registrations last year was 10.1%, similar to 10.3% in 2022, and higher than 7.4% in 2021.
There are 71 animal protection centers directly established and operated by local governments, 152 centers operated by entrusted animal hospitals or animal protection organizations, and 5 centers operated by private institutions entrusted through local government facilities.
The trap-neuter-release program for stray cats, aimed at controlling the population of cats naturally breeding and living in urban and residential areas, was implemented for 122,000 cats, a 16.4% increase from 104,000 the previous year.
The number of companion animal-related businesses decreased by 6.8% to 20,575 from 22,000 the previous year. Pet grooming businesses accounted for the largest share with 8,404 locations (40.8%), followed by boarding services with 4,820 (23.4%), sales businesses with 3,154 (15.3%), breeding businesses with 2,011 (9.8%), transportation businesses with 1,477 (7.2%), exhibition businesses with 541 (2.6%), import businesses with 94 (0.5%), and funeral services with 74 (0.4%) registered or licensed.
Local governments designated 765 animal protection officers to handle animal protection duties such as responding to animal abuse and detected 1,146 violations of the Animal Protection Act. The main violations were leash and identification tag violations when walking companion dogs, accounting for 732 cases (63.9%), followed by 81 cases (7.1%) of unregistered companion dogs.
Kim Jeong-hee, Director of the Quarantine Agency, said, "With the increase in companion animal households, interest in animal information is also rising. We will actively strive to provide necessary information to the public through the National Animal Protection Information System."
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