South Korean man suspected of animal abuse after 1,000 dogs found on his property
South Korean police are investigating a man for suspected animal abuse after more than 1,000 dogs were found on the grounds of his home in the northwest of the country.
The incident came to light following a police report filed by a resident who stumbled upon the house in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi province, while searching for their lost dog.
The suspect in his 60s said he recovered abandoned dogs and starved them to death. Animal rights activists, however, alleged that he was paid by dog farmers to dispose of canines past their breeding age or commercially unattractive.
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A member of animal rights group Care said the man, who was charged with violating animal protection law, received 10,000 won (US$7.70) from dog breeders for each dog to "take care of them". He later locked up the animals and starved them to death from 2020, the Korea Herald reported.
South Korea's animal protection law states that anyone who abuses or is cruel to animals will be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison or fined 30 million won (US$23,100).
Television footage showed blurred images of dead dogs in cages, sacks and rubber boxes on the ground in the yard. Care staff who monitored the scene said the decayed carcasses created a layer on the ground, on top of which more bodies were kept to make another row and so on.
Care said four dogs rescued from the house were undergoing treatment at a clinic. Two of the dogs were in critical condition. It added that the surviving animals suffered from malnutrition or skin disease.
The local government in Yangpyeong said the dead dogs would be removed this week.
In South Korea, the number of animal abuse cases increased to 914 in 2019 from 69 in 2010, data published by a lawmaker's office showed, and the pet-owning population grew to more than 10 million people in the country of 52 million.
Incidents of animal abandonment rose to 130,401 in 2020 from 89,732 cases in 2016, according to the agriculture ministry's Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. South Korea has an estimated 6 million pet dogs and 2.6 million cats.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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