Korean Animal Welfare Association urgently rescues 22 animals
Most suffer major organ damage...risk of death
A man who live-streamed scenes of abusing hamsters and guinea pigs online has been reported to the police. During the investigation, more than 20 animals with organ damage were found at his residence.
The animal rights group Dongmul Jayu Yeondae (Korean Animal Welfare Association) announced on February 6 that on February 3, together with police and district office officials, it had separated and taken into protective custody a total of 22 animals from Mr. A, who is suspected of animal abuse, including 12 hamsters and 1 guinea pig. Fourteen of them have been transferred to a nearby animal hospital for treatment, while the remaining 8 have been handed over to a shelter operated by the group.
Most of the animals rescued from Mr. A's home had suffered damage to major organs such as the liver, lungs, and kidneys due to prolonged stress and malnutrition. It was reported that various parts of their bodies were also mutilated. Medical staff stated that, for some of the animals, "their lethargy and motor impairment are so severe that there is a possibility they could die within three days."
According to the association, since March last year Mr. A has been posting photos and videos of injured or bleeding animals, and animals collapsed from abuse, on various online communities such as Naver Cafes. In particular, he kept multiple hamsters together in a cramped space. Hamsters are known as animals for which cohabitation is strongly discouraged, because when subjected to extreme stress they may attack or prey on their own kind.
The association reported Mr. A to the police in December last year. Although some internet users protested and demanded that he stop the abuse, Mr. A is said to have continued the abuse in a mocking manner, making comments to the effect that "I am not afraid of a police investigation." He carried out grotesque acts such as sucking hamsters into a vacuum cleaner or putting them in a container and shaking it, and even live-streamed these acts online. Ulsan Ulju Police Station plans to summon Mr. A soon on suspicion of violating the Animal Protection Act and question him.
Noh Juhui, an activist at Dongmul Jayu Yeondae, said, "Even if abused animals are separated, they are returned to the abuser if the protection costs are paid," and urged, "Under the current law it is difficult to prevent repeat abuse. The introduction of a system to ban animal abusers from keeping animals, which the government has presented as a national policy task, is urgently needed."
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