Cat/Dog Rescue in Seoul

[Karen]

timvas in Seoul is looking for volunteers to foster cats and dogs. Read on:

Ok, some info about the Trap, Neuter & Rehome/Release program:

- Yongsan Council (which encompasses Itaewon, Hannam-dong and I'm not sure how many other areas) are paying for stray cats and dogs to be neutered for free by vets within their council area (on the understanding that the strays were caught within the Yongsan area).

- There are about 20 vets who are participating in this initiative.

- I'm not 100% sure why the council introduced the scheme, although I have been told it may have been in response to a community backlash against a culling of a large number of stray cats some time last year (this is unverified).

- Although this is obviously a good initiative, I'm not aware that there is anyone (council or private) actively catching strays to then have them desexed. So it's just something I'm looking to do myself with my fiancee (who is still in Sydney but is moving to Seoul soon).

- The idea is that if I can get a few fellow cat and dog lovers to periodically volunteer to foster the occasional stray animal (while I endeavour to find them permanent homes) then I can go out on weekends to areas where I know there are strays and attempt to catch them with the live trap I have access to (a large-ish cage with a step at one end where you put food - when the cat or dog steps on this it shuts the gate at the other end and the animal is then easily transported to the vet). If I can get to the point where I have a couple of foster carers available, then after neutering I know I can either have the cat or dog looked after while we look for a permanent home (if it is sociable) or I can re-release it in the knowledge that its breeding cycle has at least been stopped.

- That's about it - no govt or private funding other than myself, just looking for some other animal lovers to assist occasionally with fostering if they can.

- I can be contacted either via this forum, by e-mail at tim.vasudeva@gmail.com or on my mobile 010 8940 5233.

[kalleycat]

hi. i just found this website on the internet to look for some good will people who care for poor animals in korea, especially cats and dogs.
i am a member of KOPC(the korean organization for the protection of cats). KOPC memebers help stray or feral cats in their neighborhoods by feeding and sterilizing(TNR) them as well as finding homes for kittens and tamed adult stray cats. i don't live in yongsan area, but live in another part of seoul and have my caring feral cats to be spayed and neutered in the KOPC associated clinics. i have 9 feral cats spayed or neutered since this february. they are all doing fine and i keep feeding them every night.
i am said that KARMA(korean animal rescue and management association) which does the major culling on stray or feral cats after trapping in the most of seoul area(reported more than 90% of the trapped are euthanized in a month regardless of age.) does not trap and remove cats with ear-tipping. yongsan is trying TNR as the council wide, but it seems that they are not actively working on it because only a few cat lover activists trap and take them to the clinics. it's a good thing that free operation is provided in yongsan area, cuz i have to pay certain amount of cost to the associated clinic, although it's much cheaper than other regular ones as i do not live in yongsan.
anyway, if anyone here takes care of feral cats and lives in yongsan area, you can have them spayed or neutered for free for sure, it's gov't budget, so you need to take advantage of it for feral cats you take care of.
for any further info, you can email me.

[Karen]

kalleycat, kudos to you for working so hard to help feral cats!

I didn't know that KARMA still culled cats! I had heard that they had done so in the past, but I didn't know it was still their policy. That's very sad, considering other options like TNR are available in other areas of Seoul. What is their policy about dogs?


Thanks so much for the information.

Karen

[kalleycat]

karma still does culling. it's no exception for dogs either.
quite a lot of koreans don't even know karma is culling because their name has "rescue" in it and people tend to think they save those poor dogs and cats.
i was also one of them not so long ago.
but the thing is quite a lot of litters of kittens are brought in and they cannot even make it for 1month due to malnutrition, stress and other reasons. even if they are brought in with their mom cat, sometimes the mom cat cannot survive due to stress as well. i know some people try to get the young out of karma by adopting and then rehome them. that's why it's better off being on the street sometimes. i do not report to the council office when i see stray cats or dogs because that means they can only have 1 more month of living or shorter.
but it's very optimistic that karma is also supporting TNR for cats(return) and do not trap ferals cats who are sterilized(must have eary tipping, V or stright). there are several councils around seoul which already started the policy a few years back and they get the good result(reduced feral cats and ratio of female and male cats changing...less female cats) it's good that seoul is realizing TNR(remove) is not working anymore...but anyway, karma still does culling but it's inevitable because there are too many trapping(either voluntarily or by residential complaints) every day...as long as the statistic shows, karma gets around 30 stray animals only a day which calculates total almost 1000 cats and dogs a month!! this is only for most parts of seoul and some gyeongi prov. associated with karma for managment of stray animals. http://www.karma.or.kr/management_c5.asp the number will be outragious when it comes to nationwide... there are some no kill shelters but most of council associated animal control management is done by culling in 1 month of custody by private shelters...it's almost no use because most of them cannot find their original owners or be rehomed under their custody and finally get euthanized....sometimes not so humanely.

[Karen]

karma still does culling. it's no exception for dogs either. quite a lot of koreans don't even know karma is culling because their name has "rescue" in it and people tend to think they save those poor dogs and cats.
Do you know the statistics on how many animals are culled each month at KARAMA? Are there any organizations, like KOPC, who try to educate the public on how many animals are killed? I mean, is there an education campaign going on? If so, I want to help!

i know some people try to get the young out of karma by adopting and then rehome them. that's why it's better off being on the street sometimes. i do not report to the council office when i see stray cats or dogs because that means they can only have 1 more month of living or shorter.
I know what you mean. It's the same in North America. So many animal control centers put a time limit on how long animals can stay there. Even the SPCA euthanizes animals if they stay "too long". So sometimes, as sad as it is, I agree it's better not to drop the animal off at a shelter. Difficult decision.

but it's very optimistic that karma is also supporting TNR for cats(return) and do not trap ferals cats who are sterilized (must have eary tipping, V or stright). there are several councils around seoul which already started the policy a few years back and they get the good result (reduced feral cats and ratio of female and male cats changing...less female cats)
That's awesome! Do the vets or organizations those areas have statistics? I think it's very important to publish the results of such programs and let people know it's working!


it's good that seoul is realizing TNR(remove) is not working anymore...
Sorry, I'm confused. Isn't TNR "Trap-Neuter-Return"? Maybe you mean Trapping/Removing/Culling isn't working anymore?

karma still does culling but it's inevitable because there are too many trapping (either voluntarily or by residential complaints) every day...as long as the statistic shows, karma gets around 30 stray animals only a day which calculates total almost 1000 cats and dogs a month!! this is only for most parts of seoul and some gyeongi prov. associated with karma for managment of stray animals. http://www.karma.or.kr/management_c5.asp the number will be outragious when it comes to nationwide...
Those statistic are really discouraging. It's impossible to find that many homes, every month, every year. There just are not enough people!

Do any organizations in Korea have a spay/neuter campaign directed at pet owners? I think if some popular singers and actors could promote spay/neuter many Koreans would start to understand that it's necessary if the killing is going to stop!!!

there are some no kill shelters but most of council associated animal control management is done by culling in 1 month of custody by private shelters...it's almost no use because most of them cannot find their original owners or be rehomed under their custody and finally get euthanized....sometimes not so humanely.
It's so sad, but not so different from many cities in North America. People think pets are disposable. I'm afraid to ask, but what are the inhumane methods of euthanasia that you mention?

Thanks so much, kalleycat, for all the information. I'm sorry it took so long for me to answer.

[sarah24]

i volunteered at karma with my friend bout 6 months ago.
we asked the docter about how many animals come in each DAY and he said anywhere from 60-100 and the most that comes in was 116 or some number like that.
i know culling is bad but if they didnt there would be no room for the other animals that came in and if they just let them go they'd get caught and eaten so i think putting them to sleep the peacful way is much better. i was reading about the tnr program on this site and i just thought a great place for you to get some cats is in seobingo dong its near ichon thiers billions of cat running around and thier always near eachother so i think you could get lots of cats.
theres also about 2 dogs around here i dont see them everyday but like once a month i see them walking around. im not sure if they have owners one is a jindo pretty big dog and the other im not sure its a mixed i think. i would bring them home but my parents would KILL me i already have one dog. hah. and i foster so much but now my mom wont let me. oh. and i want to help out with that trip, i want to video record the stuff and put it in this compettion with whats happening to the world so people can see how neutering/spaying is important. but im going to have to bring a friend thanks so much. OH! whens the shelter closing?