Prosecutors Seek Prison Sentences for Brutal Abuse of Over 160 Wild Animals
Defendants Captured and Tortured Badgers, Roe Deer, and More in Jeju and Gyeonggi
The judge sharply criticized two men in their 30s who were brought to trial on charges of brutally abusing over 160 wild animals, asking, "Is this something a human would do? This is too cruel." On June 26, Judge Kim Kwangseop of the Jeju District Court Criminal Division 1 held the first trial and sentencing hearing for Mr. A and Mr. B, both in their 30s, who were indicted and detained on charges of violating the Act on the Conservation and Management of Wildlife. On this day, the prosecution requested that the court sentence Mr. A to three years in prison and Mr. B to one year in prison, stating, "The defendants' methods were cruel, and both the number of offenses and the number of victimized wild animals are excessive."
Men in their 30s have been brought to trial on charges of brutally abusing over 160 wild animals. Yonhap News
According to the indictment, from December 2020 to March of this year, Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of brutally capturing and abusing more than 160 wild animals?including badgers, roe deer, deer, wild boars, and weasels?on 125 occasions in the mountainous areas of Jeju City, Gunpo and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province. Mr. B is accused of participating in Mr. A's crimes on eight occasions from March 2023 to March of this year. The investigation revealed that Mr. A and others attached GPS tracking devices to Jindo dogs they had trained, released them into the mountains, and had the dogs locate and bite wild animals. They also hunted wild boars using homemade spears and cane knives, and struck the heads of captured wild animals multiple times with stones.
Mr. A reportedly scouted the habitats of wild animals in advance, checked for the presence of closed-circuit (CC) TV cameras, and hunted only at night when there were few people around. During this process, Mr. A and others, fearing detection while transporting wild animals, would skin them and feed the organs to the dogs at the scene. When caught in the act during a hunt, they denied the crime by claiming, "The dogs suddenly attacked the animals while we were out for a walk." In addition, Mr. A filmed the hunting scenes and shared them with members of a Jindo dog club. He also sent badgers, roe deer, and deer antlers to a health food shop to have them processed into extracts for personal consumption or to give to acquaintances.
Both men admitted to all charges in court, but Mr. B claimed that he was not a habitual offender. Judge Kim told Mr. A, "Isn't this too cruel for a human? If you can do such cruel things to animals, there is a real concern that you could do the same to people." When Mr. A responded, "I will no longer keep Jindo dogs or commit such crimes," Judge Kim said, "I hope you will raise plants from now on." The sentencing hearing for Mr. A and others is scheduled for July 17 at 2 p.m.
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