Abandonment of protected animals increases during holidays in South Korea

In South Korea, where there are more than 15 million pet owners, more than 110,000 pets are abandoned every year.
On the 11th, the current status of abandoned animals registered in the National Animal Protection Information System of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency was announced.
According to the report, the number of abandoned animals has been decreasing every year since peaking in 2019 (135,791 animals), but is expected to reach 118,273 animals in 2021, 113,440 animals in 2022, and 11,510 animals in 2023.
According to the 2023 Abandoned Animal Analysis Report prepared by the non-profit organization Animal Freedom Solidarity, which was released just after the Lunar New Year holiday,
In February 2023, 7,272 abandoned animals were found, up 13.1% from the previous year (6,432).
Two cases were discovered, a 5.2% increase from the previous year. Jeong Jin-kyung, head of the animal protection civic group Kara, said, "There is a tendency for the rate of animals being abandoned to increase during the holiday season."
Meanwhile, local governments are also taking measures to reduce the number of abandoned animals. To mark the holiday, they are running "pet shelters" and collecting information on abandoned animals through the National Animal Protection Information System.
Although reports have been received, it has been pointed out that "there are limits to solving the fundamental problem."