Police in Busan launched an investigation Tuesday into a report that a person drove a car with a dog dragged behind it last week.
Video footage shows a large dog being dragged behind a city car on April 29 in Busan. (CARE)
A civic group called Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth has filed a complaint with the city police after receiving a tip from a witness. Video footage shot on April 29 shows a large dog on a leash being dragged behind a city car. It has been circulated on the Internet and TV channels triggering calls against animal cruelty.
“Although passing-by cars honked horns and pedestrians motioned, the driver kept driving without pulling his car over,” the Seoul-based group said on its website, citing a witness.
The incident comes less than two weeks after another dog was found to have been killed while being dragged behind an upscale sedan on a Seoul highway.
The earlier case prompted an immediate uproar among Internet users and animal rights activists after a picture emerged on an online forum.
The driver surnamed Oh was questioned by police but released without any charges. The 44-year-old businessman reportedly said that he tied his beagle inside the trunk then left it open as he was worried the dog would suffocate. The dog then somehow got out from the trunk.
In Korea, only deliberate animal abuse is subject to penalties of up to one year in prison or a maximum 10 million won ($8,860) fine. About 4 million households are estimated to be raising a pet.
Critics say the animal protection laws are too lenient and vague. The activist group, which staged a rally against the handling of the Seoul case, is collecting signatures online for a legislative revision.
By Shin Hyon-hee
(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
제 2의 '에쿠스 악마' 등장에 시민들 경악
부산에서도 최근 비스토 차량이 개를 매달고 끌 고 다닌 사실이 알려져 경찰이 수사에 나섰다.
동물사랑실천협회는 승용차에 개를 매달아 끌고 다닌 사실이 있다며 부산 남부경찰서에 민원을 접수했다고 1일 밝혔다.
동물사랑실천협회회에 따르면 지난달 29일 부산 연제구 토곡 쪽에서 수영구 망미동 방면으로 가는 길에 개가 비스토 차량에 매달려 끌려 다니는 것을 목격한 시민 이 협회에 제보해 왔다는 것이다.
동물사랑실천협회는 "큰 덩치의 개가 계속 차에 끌려가며 혓바닥을 축 늘어트리고 침을 질질 흘렸다. 지나가던 차들이 이 상황을 목격해 경적을 울렸지만 해당 차량운전자는 무시하고 계속 달렸다"고 설명했다.
협회 측은 해당 차량이 처음부터 개를 매달고 달린 점으로 미뤄봤을 때 고의성이 있다고 판단, 경찰에 수사를 의뢰했다.
동물사랑실천협회 박소연 대표는 "수사의뢰를 통해 개의 생사 여부를 확인할 것 "이라며 "농림수산부가 동물보호법을 전면개정하도록 적극 요청할 예정"이라고 말했다.