Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Neither activists nor industry happy with ban on wild animal cafes
A visitor feeds and touches raccoon at a wild animal cafe in Seoul in this undated photo. Korea Times file
By Lee Hyo-jin
Wild animal cafes to be banned from Thursday, but with 4-year grace period
A planned ban on the operation of wild animal cafes, set to take effect from Thursday, is drawing complaints from both cafe owners and animal rights activists.
Cafe owners are crying foul that the ban will force them to close their businesses, leaving animals with no place to go, while animal activists are advocating for a broader ban on animal exhibits.
Wild animal cafes, where visitors can see and touch animals such as raccoons and meerkats, have grown increasingly popular in Korea in recent years. But in response to criticisms that animals are distressed from exposure to customers and suffer from poor management, the Ministry of Environment has decided to prohibit the operation of such establishments.
Under the amendment to the Wildlife Protection and Management Act approved at the Cabinet meeting on Dec. 5, beginning from Thursday, it will be illegal to exhibit wild animals in facilities not registered as zoos or aquariums.
In other words, owners of wild animal cafes should either re-register their establishments as zoos or cease operations.
To minimize confusion, the government has implemented a four-year grace period until Dec. 13, 2027, during which time wild animal cafes are technically allowed to operate without having to face penalties. But the authorities noted that touching the animals or climbing on top of them will be immediately banned from Thursday, with violators subject to a 1.5 million won ($1,140) fine.
An owner of a wild animal cafe in Seoul's Mapo District, who wished to be identified by his surname Goo, said he was devastated by the operation ban, which will force him to close a business he has been running for seven years.
"As changing my business registration to a zoo, is not a feasible option. I have no other choice than to close it. Frankly speaking, I don't know what I should do now," he said.
Desert foxes are seen at a wild animal cafe in Seoul in this undated photo. Korea Times file
Goo's concerns go beyond the fact that he is about to lose his job. He lamented that he does not know what he should do with the animals once he shuts down his cafe.
"I have yet to hear from the local district office or the environment ministry regarding the animals. The officials are talking about sending them to a government-run protection facility, which is no different from abandoning the animals I have spent years with. They're like my family," he said.
Criticisms about the planned ban on wild animal cafes were raised by animal rights activists as well, who believe that the legislation may fail to close existing loopholes in the management of privately raised wild animals.
Lee Hyung-ju, head of Animal Welfare Awareness Research and Education (Aware), a Seoul-based animal activist group, welcomed the ban itself, but was quite skeptical that the law exempts dogs, cats and certain types of reptiles and birds.
"As the ban applies primarily to mammals, the exhibition of many birds and reptiles will still be allowed," she said.
The activist also called for the government to properly establish protection facilities for the wild animals and thoroughly monitor their transferal, saying, "If cafe owners decide to release the animals into the wild, that would lead to serious disruptions in the ecosystem."
The environment ministry, for its part, said the wild animals will be able to find a new home at the National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province.
"Along with the institute in Seocheon, we plan to come up with additional facilities to accommodate the animals and will continue to engage in discussions with the cafe owners," a ministry official at the biodiversity division told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
The official also explained that the revised law banning animal cafes primarily focused on the protection of mammals, as they are more prone to distress and have higher risks of zoonosis – disease transmitted from animals to humans – than reptiles.