Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Lawmakers seek to ban animal abusers from owning pets
A dog sits alone in a rusted enclosure at an animal shelter in this file photo. Courtesy of Live In Freedom & Equality
By Jung Min-ho
Lawmakers are moving to close a loophole that fails to stop animal abusers from keeping or adopting new pets even after serious cruelty cases.
Under proposed amendments to the Animal Protection Act, submitted recently by Rep. Han Zee-a and nine other legislators of the main opposition People Power Party, animal abusers would be restricted from keeping their animals or adopting new ones for a certain period.
“Under the current law, there are provisions to punish those who abuse animals. However, institutional measures to restrict abusers from keeping animals again are not sufficient, and concerns about repeated abuse have been raised,” the lawmakers said in the proposal.
Under the bill, courts would be given authority to impose an animal keeping ban when sentencing abusers, preventing them from owning or adopting pets for a set period.
Animal rights activists have long called for Korea to follow other countries such as Germany and Britain in barring abusers from owning or keeping animals, not just punishing cruelty.
The bill also calls for strengthening protections for animals before a conviction is finalized. Authorities would be able to swiftly remove animals from suspected abusers and place them in designated shelters on a temporary basis.
“This is intended to eradicate animal cruelty and substantially protect the life and safety of animals by streamlining penalties for violating breeding ban obligations and restrictions on adopting animals to people with a history of animal abuse, while also making the operation of animal shelter centers mandatory,” the lawmakers noted.