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By Lee Hyo-jin
The government is being urged to implement additional measures against dog attacks, as current laws seem to be ineffective in preventing such incidents against people, as well as other animals.
Under the current law, five breeds that are categorized by the government as "aggressive breeds" ― Tosa, American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier and Rottweiler ― and dogs crossbred from these, must be leashed and muzzled in public areas.
Owners of these breeds are required to sign up for insurance to cover any attacks by their pets that cause injury.
When a dog attack results in a person's death, regardless of the breed, the dog owner can be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined 30 million won ($25,300). If an attack causes injury, its owner faces up to two years in jail or a 20 million won fine.
However, experts point out that the current rule determining canine aggression depending on breed is ineffective in preventing attacks, as it lacks an understanding of the animals' characteristics.
"Many dogs other than the five aggressive breeds may have a history of biting a person or another animal. It is hard to tell whether the pet might be aggressive or not only by its breed," said Park Ju-yeon, a lawyer at People for Non-human Rights (PNR), a group of lawyers engaged in animal protection activities.
Several reports of attacks by dogs that do not fall into the category of "aggressive breeds" have been made recently.
A woman in her 50s was killed after being attacked by a large dog, supposedly a Samoyed mix breed, in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, May 22.
The unleashed dog attacked her from behind while she was walking, severely injuring her neck. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly after.
In Daegu, two Malinois taking a walk with their owner, attacked and killed a cat on the street, May 21.
In order to prevent such attacks, animal experts called for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to come up with a more tailored approach, such as introducing a standard measure to evaluate each dog's level of aggression.
Some experts viewed that it is important to educate the dog owners.
"Strengthening laws is only a temporary solution. All dogs, regardless of their breed, are born with two characters ― aggression and obedience. Owners are responsible for control of their dog to ensure they behave themselves in public areas," said Jeon Jin-kyung, executive director of Korea Animal Rights Advocates.
"We need more education programs for dog owners so that they can train their dogs properly," she added.
