Yeoju City Strengthens Management Measures for Livestock Epidemic Burial Site Designation

"Land ownership information is fundamental to quarantine... Cooperation from farms is crucial"
Yeoju City to require submission of land ownership documents for future burial site consultations

Yeoju City, Gyeonggi Province, announced on July 2 that during the emergency culling and burial operations following the confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) at a poultry farm in Yulguk-ri, Heungcheon-myeon on December 25, 2024, there was a case where the proposed burial site was later found to be city-owned land, but this information had not been clearly provided during the process.

View of Yeoju City Hall. Provided by Yeoju City

It was revealed that the site proposed by the farm for burial was actually owned by Yeoju City, but this fact was not clearly disclosed in advance. As a result, during the administrative audit, it was pointed out as a case where "the use of city-owned land without specific notice undermined administrative trust."

In response to this incident, Yeoju City is now working to improve its system to ensure transparency and legality in the designation of burial sites.

Going forward, when using land owned by a third party as a burial site, the city will require on-site verification in advance and make it mandatory to obtain written consent from the landowner. This aims to prevent administrative confusion and ensure procedural legitimacy. In addition, a warning will be issued to the farm in question, and because violations of quarantine regulations were confirmed at the time of the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak, the city plans to reduce the culling compensation amount by more than 50%.

Meanwhile, the burial site was constructed using a closed-type method utilizing a liquid fertilizer storage tank, so there is currently no risk of environmental pollution. The site is scheduled to be processed into compost by June 2026.

An official from Yeoju City stated, "Culling and burial are the last resort in quarantine measures, so basic cooperation such as providing land information and meeting facility standards is extremely important," and added, "We will review and supplement the entire quarantine system to restore administrative trust and ensure the safety of our citizens."