동물 학대ㆍ유기 처벌 강화, 사설 보호소 관리 체계 마련 등 추진

There's a growing number of pet owners here in Korea.
But at the same time, we're seeing more and more animals being abandoned and abused.
To prevent such cases, the government is working to come up with measures to reinforce animal protection laws.
Hong Yoo outlines what they are.
In 2017, 1-hundred-2-thousand pets were abandoned, a 14-point-6 percent increase from the previous year.
Many of these animals are abandoned or killed after they've been bred and trained for illegal activities, such as dog fighting.
To tackle this issue, the government announced a plan to reinforce punishments for those who are found abusing or mistreating animals.
Currently, a person who kills an animal with a malignant purpose can be sentenced to a maximum of 2 years in prison or fined up to 17-thousand U.S. dollars.
Those guilty of abusing animals can be sentenced to a maximum of 2 years in prison, or fined up to 17-thousand U.S. dollars in fine.
The revision of the law will strengthen the punishment to a maximum of 3 years in prison or a fine up 26-thousand U.S. dollars for killing an animal.
Along this enforcement in the legislation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will increase the number of shelters for abandoned pets. In addition, the ministry will overlook the management of 12 shelters opened in 2017 currently operated by local governments. The ministry plans to come up with more effective measures in the next 5 years to improve animal welfare.
The revisions are expected to go into effect as easly as next month.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.