Korea Consumer Agency Investigates Companion Animal Sales Practices
Over Half of Consumer Damage Cases Involve Illness or Death of Animals
20% of Reported Damage Cases Related to Membership Contracts
As the number of people raising companion animals has recently increased, demand for buying and selling companion animals is also rising. At the same time, consumer damage related to such transactions continues to occur, including cases where businesses demand membership fees amounting to several million won despite advertising the animals as completely free.
A citizen is walking a pet dog at Seoulsup in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. (The photo is unrelated to the article content)
The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 5th that, after investigating eight animal sales businesses nationwide, it found that important information such as the health status of the companion animals and compensation standards in the event of illness or death was insufficiently provided in the sales contracts. It also found that businesses sell membership products together with companion animal sales contracts and restrict contract cancellation, indicating that improvements are needed.
In fact, from 2022 through June last year, a total of 743 applications for damage relief related to companion animals were filed with the Korea Consumer Agency, and the number has been increasing every year. By type of damage, issues related to the companion animals' illness or death accounted for the largest share at 54.8% (407 cases), followed by issues related to membership contracts at 20.3% (151 cases). These two types together accounted for most of the cases, at 75.1%.
Among the businesses surveyed, seven did not record the health status or vaccination dates of the companion animals they sold in the sales contracts, and four either had no compensation standards in the event of illness or death, or had standards that were less favorable than those set out in the Consumer Dispute Resolution Standards. In addition, all eight businesses sold membership products priced between 500,000 and 1.6 million won, which offered benefits such as lifetime discounts at animal hospitals, together with the sale of companion animals. Among these, 75.0% (six businesses) restricted mid-term cancellation due to a simple change of mind or personal circumstances, and 25.0% (two businesses) imposed excessive penalty fees amounting to 30-50% of the contract price.
Half of the businesses surveyed used names on their own websites and social media services (SNS) that could be mistaken for non-profit animal protection facilities, and they also ran advertisements for free adoption. However, contrary to the advertisements, all of them demanded responsibility fees of 100,000 to 1.5 million won, depending on the animal's breed and age, or required membership sign-ups worth around 2.5 million won. The Korea Consumer Agency stressed that, although these offers appear to be free adoptions on the surface, in reality they require responsibility fees or expensive membership costs as mandatory conditions, so consumers need to exercise particular caution.
A Korea Consumer Agency official said, "Based on the findings of this investigation, we plan to ask the relevant ministries to strengthen the management and supervision of animal sellers and to restrict the use of names that can be mistaken for animal protection facilities." The agency also advised consumers that, when purchasing a companion animal, they should: check whether important information such as the animal's health status and compensation standards in the event of illness or death is stated in the sales contract; make sure to confirm the conditions for mid-term cancellation and the penalty fee standards for membership products; and not be misled by free adoption advertisements.
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