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Dear
Friends
The following news item was reported in the
Korea Times, 20th December
2004.
<start
quote>Animal Abusers Face Crackdown
Gambling
on Dog Fighting to Be Prohibited Next
Year
By Na
Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The government plans to introduce
a revision of the animal protection law next year
to promote animal rights and toughen punishments
for those found abusing animals, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) said Monday.
The
revision, which is scheduled to take effect in
2006, calls for limiting animal experimentation,
preventing animal cruelty and requires people to
put a tag and leash on their pets when in public
places. Violators will face a maximum of six
months in jail or 2 million won in fines, the
ministry said.
The
measures are part of the government's efforts to
improve South Koreas image overseas. The
revision, however, failed to include regulations
on dog meat, which has brought South Korea much
criticism from animal rights activists.
The
perception of the mistreatment of animals in South
Korea among Westerners has taken a toll in
improving the national image, with international
animal rights groups often criticizing Seoul for
not doing enough to address the issue.
Under the
revision, it would become illegal to fight animals
for profit. In addition, the public killing of
animals would be prohibited and painless methods
of slaughter would be devised.
Limitations would be set on the number of
organizations licensed to carry out experiments on
animals and the licensed organizations would be
asked to receive prior clearance from the
government for the tests.
The plan
calls for introducing funeral services for
animals.
``We have
prepared this revision to strengthen the
protection of animals to the level prevailing in
advanced nations, MAF spokesman Chung Myung-ho
said.
``The
government has drawn up lists of unacceptable
behavior very specific to the effective handling
of animal abuse cases, he said.
Using
animals for sports, such as dog racing and dog
fighting, will be strictly banned, but traditional
animal sports, such as bullfights, will be
allowed.
The Korea
Animals Protection Society (KAPS) said the
government accommodated a variety of suggestions
made for animal protection, but the revision still
needs improvement.
``To some
extent, the government maintains a dubious
attitude in solving this issue. They tend to view
animal abuse and animal sports from a different
angle, a KAPS official said. ``We want to
continue discussing the details of the revision.
They fall short of the real meaning of animal
protection.
Under the
revision, people will be required to leash and tag
their pets in public places as well as to dispose
of animal waste. Also, pet retailers will be
required to report to the government before
opening business and pets must be vaccinated
before being sold from stores. <end
quote>
According to our understanding, as it
stands this revision will replace the 1991 Animal
Protection Act that currently makes it illegal to
consume the meat of cats or dogs. It is not as yet
clear how the slaughter of these animals would be
regarded under the new legislation, although it is
unlikely that the butchers would receive harsher
prosecution or penalties than they do at the
moment (i.e. none). A more probable outcome is a
"sanitization" of the slaughtering, using
government approved "humane" methods. The
introduction of "funeral services for
pets" will fool no
one.
On a brighter note, may we take this
opportunity to wish all our friends and supporters
a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Please
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From all the team at
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