Dog rescue livestreamers face allegations of animal abuse, donation misuse

Social Affairs

Published: 22 Jul. 2024, 15:20 Updated: 22 Jul. 2024, 15:43

Dog rescue livestreamers face allegations of animal abuse, donation misuse

A dog is seen encased in a metal cage ready to be transported during a rescue operation on April 18 in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, broadcast live by Team Cat’ch Dog. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Animal protection groups streaming live broadcasts of their apparent rescue of abused animals from dog farms and puppy mills are facing public backlash.

The criticism comes amid suspicions from dog lovers that the rescued canines are not adequately cared for and are often euthanized to conceal ineffective aftercare.

Questions have also been raised about how rescue groups use their donations.

Of 51 dogs rescued by the animal protection group Team Cat'ch Dog on April 18, 50 were moved to the Ansan City Animal Protection Center in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi.

Of these, 26 were euthanized due to measles within two weeks of their rescue.

Controversy soon erupted over Team Cat'ch Dog's responsibility for the euthanizations.

Ansan City Animal Protection Center said it could have minimized the use of euthanasia had it been notified sooner that there were dogs with symptoms of measles.

"It is the Ansan City Protection Center's responsibility for not properly testing for measles," countered Jeong Seong-yong, CEO of Team Cat'ch Dog. Jeong also said the group spent donation money on treating rescue dogs rather than on staff salaries.

Groups such as Team Cat'ch Dog livestream so-called strike content, which depicts their efforts — often in partnership with local government officials — to end illegal activities by dog farm owners and rescue animals in danger.

About 10 groups livestream strike content, especially since Korea's banning of dog meat in February became a social issue.

A rescued dog inside a cage with a red collar shows signs of illness and injury at the Ansan City Animal Protection Center in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Under the Animal Protection Act, animal protection groups are not responsible for sheltering rescued animals.

Nevertheless, as more animals are rescued, local government animal protection centers, where the dogs are transferred, fill up rapidly, keeping the groups involved.

Most dogs rescued from dog farms are mixed, medium-to-large-sized dogs that are difficult to adopt, and animal protection centers receive only 150,000 to 300,000 won ($108 to $217) per dog in subsidies.

Ultimately, dogs are euthanized after the 10-day adoption notice period has passed according to the law.

Critics have also denounced sending rescued dogs to animal protection group shelters instead of entrusting them to local governments for care.

In March 2022, the animal protection group CARE rescued 180 dogs from the Uljin wildfire in North Gyeongsang.

Out of the 180 dogs rescued, 90 were kept in unsanitary conditions. Eleven eventually died.

Critics also asked whether the 200 million won in donations the group received through 11 live broadcasts was adequately allocated to care for the rescued dogs.

During the rescue, the dogs were moved to dog farms in Uljin, North Gyeongsang, and Gimpo, Gyeonggi, before eventually arriving at CARE's protection facility in Paju, Gyeonggi.

However, a former employee of the group posted images of the dogs at one of the farms with bloodshot eyes, pus leaking from their bottoms and visible wounds, suggesting the animals were kept in terrible conditions. The poster said the dogs were kept in a dark place and fed food that was past its sell-by date.

Kim Young-hwan, the CEO of CARE, countered that the dogs had to be moved from Uljin to a dog farm in Gimpo as an emergency measure and that conditions at the group's own protection center were good.

He said the mortality rate of the dogs from the Uljin rescue was only one-fifth that of local government-run animal protection centers and that most of the dogs that appeared ill were already in terrible condition when rescued from the dog farms.

Former CARE CEO Park So-yeon added that the organization "did not raise funds to rescue the victims but to pay for the dogs' treatment" and that the group spent more than the 200 million won raised, including 80 million won for burn treatment and 35 million won for taking care of the dogs in Uljin.

A rescue scene on April 18 at a dog farm in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, broadcasted live by the Team Cat’ch Dog. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Lee Jin-hong, director of the Konkuk University Pet Counseling Center, said that "there is ground to suspect that some strike content is a new kind of business that exploits peoples' love for animals."

He added that if such suspicions prove true, groups could face charges of fraud or misusing donations.

BY LEE CHAN-KYU, KEVIN CHUNG [kjdnational@joongang.co.kr]