Pets Dumped Amid Economic Slump

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Staff Reporter

Park is a pet lover whose dog died last December; so she obtained a new dog from a nearby animal shelter. Due to the pet's old age, she has been thinking of bringing in a new dog from the shelter. ``I could have taken another dog from a pet shop, but I chose to take care of a dog from an animal shelter,'' Park said.

She vented about irresponsible people who discard their pets. ``How could people abandon their family pets because of economic difficulties?'' Park asked. ``Are they going to forsake their parents or children when they don't have money?''

The economic slump is driving more and more people to ditch their pets. At redevelopment areas in Seoul, dogs are left with a bag of dog food at demolished houses.

Seoul City estimates that the number of abandoned pets reached 15,667 last year, comprising 11,239 dogs, 4,161 cats and 227 other pets. The number of stray animals had been decreasing since 2006, but the trend reversed last year. In January, Seoul had 900 pets in its animal shelters, up 10 percent from 822 last January.

``The biggest reason might be the current financial crisis,'' Han Min-soup of the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) said. ``Our rescue work is mainly concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, but we've received more calls from other regions recently.''

According to a pet shop in Toegye-ro, central Seoul, it costs at least 100,000 won on average to raise a pet for a month, including food, vaccinations and grooming. If the pet gets sick, the expenses soar immediately.

Seoul City's animal shelters are run by each district office and district offices generally consign the shelters to local veterinarians.

``It costs some 100 million won ($64,000) annually to maintain the animal shelter. This is quite a burden to the district's financing amid the financial crisis,'' an official of the Yongsan District Office said.

Some entrusted pet clinics have to put down the stray animals due to space limitations and sheltering costs.

``The selfishness of humans results in abandoned animals. Pet owners need to be responsible for the lives they care for. Some people think pets are like toys and ditch them when they can't afford them,'' said Kim Jin-suk of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Konkuk University. ``They should be responsible to their pets and respect them as living creatures.''

[출처 : 코리아타임스]