[Courtesy of Care]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Aju News) -- A man who uploaded a video of abusing a cat cruelly and repeatedly in an internet cafe has received a record fine of its kind, reflecting a growing public awareness of animal rights in South Korea, according to Care, an animal rights group.
The group said a district court in Uijeongbu north of Seoul sentenced the cat abuser identified by his surname Cho to a fine of seven million won (6,428 US dollars) in December last year. The man, who had a record of abusing animals, was seen throwing a cat repeatedly against the wall and hitting it with a slipper.
Despite its rapid modernization and economic development, South Korea still lags behind advanced countries in animal welfare. A related law provides for a maximum jail term of one year or a fine of up to 10 million won, but abusers have received light punishment.
"We think the court's ruling will make a big change in the treatment of animals in the future," Lim Young-ki, a senior Care official, told Aju news on Friday, adding that the case will alert the society that abusing an animal is a crime.
"The ruling clearly shows the justice system's view of animal rights is slowly changing," Lim said. Under an amended animal protection law which will take effect in March, violators will face a jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
South Korea has been criticized by international animal welfare groups for lack of animal protection mainly due to a deep-rooted practice of eating dog meat. Dog meat lovers claim eating dog is nothing different from eating beef, pork or chicken. Activists insist dogs are slaughtered in a brutal and unhygienic way.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
