Stray Dogs Appear in Urban Area, Local District Office Struggles
"Felt Threatened" Related Complaints Continue to Be Raised
A 'pack of stray dogs' has appeared in downtown Daegu, raising concerns among residents. The local district office is conducting capture operations, but complaints continue to pour in.
According to Yonhap News on the 15th, the area around the Innovation City in Dong-gu, Daegu, has seen complaints about stray dogs for several years. Since July, about six stray dogs have been captured over approximately two months in Dong-gu. Currently, Dong-gu has formed and is operating a stray dog rescue and capture team to catch packs of stray dogs entering the urban area.
The packs of stray dogs are believed to be animals that have become feral in nearby hills. They occasionally enter the Dong-gu city area, and some packs are reported to threaten residents.
One Dong-gu resident actually filed a complaint, saying, "While walking in an open field, about ten stray dogs ran toward me at high speed," and requested, "Please inspect and respond to places where stray dogs frequently appear and where many people gather."
Dong-gu is responding by using baited traps to capture the stray dogs. However, even when captures are successful, other packs reportedly move their habitats and come down into urban areas.
The Dong-gu office explained to the media, "There is a breeding problem beyond just capturing them." Also, when people abandon pets at popular tourist spots in Daegu such as Palgongsan, these animals become feral and join the packs of stray dogs, creating a vicious cycle.
Fortunately, no direct human casualties caused by stray dogs have been confirmed yet. However, since stray dogs are appearing near residential areas, the district office plans to respond to complaints in cooperation with fire authorities and the police going forward.
According to the current Animal Protection Act, animal protection centers must check for owners of abandoned dogs and announce adoption for more than 10 days. If no adoption applicants appear, the animals can be euthanized.
Meanwhile, since 2022, packs of stray dogs have been repeatedly spotted in Daegu city. At that time, the Daegu Fire Headquarters reportedly responded to an average of 91 dog capture-related dispatches per month, about three times a day.
It is said that capturing feral abandoned dogs takes longer. Abandoned dogs have a wide range of movement and are highly cautious, so they do not easily enter traps. Moreover, since they are not designated as harmful wild animals, capturing them with firearms is not allowed.
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