Bill to allow use of euthanized shelter animals for research draws backlash
A female Jindo dog and her six puppies, captured as feral strays in Namdong District, Incheon. All were euthanized after the public notice period. Courtesy of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency
A proposed amendment to Korea’s Animal Protection Act that would permit animal shelters to provide euthanized animals for veterinary research and education has ignited heated debate.
While some veterinarians say the bill could ease the shortage of cadavers for training, animal rights lawyers and groups warn it risks encouraging abuse and undermining the dignity of abandoned animals.
Rep. Lee Sung-yoon of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced the bill in June. It would add an exception to Article 46 of the law, which currently requires euthanized animals to be disposed of as waste or through cremation, that allows the use of such cadavers for veterinary study.
The bill’s stated aims are to reduce the number of animals used in live experiments, give veterinary students more training opportunities and lower the cost of handling carcasses.
The Korean Veterinary Medical Association expressed support, noting that veterinary schools often struggle to obtain cadavers for anatomy classes and that continuing education also requires practice specimens.
Inside view of Changwon’s shelter for abandoned animals. Courtesy of Korea Animal Welfare Association
Animal rights lawyers and advocacy groups argue that the measure is premature. The group People for Non-Human Rights (PNR), a coalition of animal law attorneys, criticized the proposal for treating animal remains as resources to be recycled rather than respecting their inherent dignity.
They said it contradicts Article 49 of the same law, which bans the use of abandoned animals in experiments, and violates the “3Rs” principle of replacement, reduction and refinement in animal research.
“Allowing cadavers to be used in this way risks normalizing euthanasia in shelters,” attorney Park Ju-yeon of PNR said. “We cannot guarantee that shelters will not euthanize healthy animals simply to supply bodies for research.”
Concerns are not merely theoretical. In Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, two of three dogs adopted from a city shelter by a pharmaceutical company operating a veterinary hospital were later euthanized and allegedly used as cadavers for training, according to reports earlier this month.
Veterinary students at Seoul National University practice with a dog model for clinical training. Courtesy of professor Hwang Cheol-yong
Calls for alternatives
Lawyer Kwon Yu-rim, who represents the animal rights group Beagle Rescue Network, said the bill could even shorten the legally required holding period for abandoned animals.
“There is currently no system to monitor whether shelter animals die naturally or are euthanized,” Kwon said. “Without safeguards, there is a real risk that euthanasia could be misused.”
Veterinarian Park Jeong-yun, head of Olive Animal Hospital, also voiced opposition. “Shelters are already struggling to function properly. To single out the use of abandoned animal cadavers for training is unacceptable,” Park said.
He urged veterinary schools to focus on alternatives such as animal models and simulations in line with the 3Rs principle.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which oversees animal experiments, acknowledged the intent of the bill but stressed the need for clear standards on purpose, eligibility, procedures and ethics, as well as sufficient preparation time.
“To truly reduce animal testing, we must also expand support for developing and distributing alternative testing methods and equipment,” an official from the ministry’s Animal Welfare Policy Division added.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.