South Korea To Adopt Dogs As Legal Beings To Tackle Dog Abuse
Jabes
Seuol, on track to grant dogs a legal status in order to curb dog abuse and abandonment, and bring down the potential abusers to heel. South Korea will be another addition to the countries with animal protection laws in the world.
According to a story covered by reuters.com, Jin Hui, a Pomeranian, was buried alive and left alone by his owner in 2018; in Busan, a South Korean port city.
The owner of the Pomeranian lost temper with the dog, and asked the children to bury the dog, the dog was barely alive during the rescue. We barely managed to save it after a call, but the owner wasn’t punished as the dog was recognized as an object owned by him
said Kim Gea-yeung, 55, manager of the shelter.
What are the concerns.
The owner was not punished as dog was recognized as an object by the law at that time which was owned by the owner.
There is amendment, which is still to be approved by the parliament, which would make South Korea a country who recognized animals as beings, and grant protection and welfare to them.
The law states that anyone who abuses or is cruel to animals may be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison or fined 30 million won ($25,494), but the standards to decide penalties have been low as the animals are treated as objects under the current legal system, Choung Jae-min, the justice ministry’s director-general of legal counsel said.
And after the Civil Act, the judges and prosecutors will have more options in determining the level of penalties and punishments to the offenders.
He also said that the amended civil code will open the possibilities for life insurance and report-rescue obligation of the authorities for the pets.
Animal rights groups welcomed the justice ministry’s plan, while calling for stricter penalties for those who abandon or torture animals, as well as a ban on dog meat.
Question that are still to be asked?
Who will decide which animal needs to be protected and which does not deserve the protection, as South Korea itself is one of biggest meat-eater country in the world? And what will be significance of animal protection laws in the world.
Will there be any other country where there can be a law written in the books of law dedicated just to well being of pet animals where they are recognized as beings not as property or thing?
Is it fair that one animal is sacred in one country and slaughtered in other country? What does that tell us about the humanity let alone the animal?
Should there be an universal animal protection laws in the world?