Target: Yoo Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea.
Goal: Stop the displacement of over 100 shelter animals by funding immediate humane housing, independent veterinary oversight, and a full inquiry into any allegedly unsafe transfers.
City officials averted mass euthanasia with last-minute funding, yet one facility is still closing and more than 100 animals have nowhere safe to go. Most are medium and large dogs who are harder to place and who need space, exercise, and careful handling. Advocates warn that hurried transfers can become a pipeline to suffering when animals are moved into ill-equipped sites. A recent local incident reportedly involved animals dying after being kept in outdoor wire cages at a clinic, which shows how dangerous inadequate stopgaps can be.
Accounts describe aging infrastructure, outdoor kennels that fall short of standards, and the lack of large-dog capacity. Officials now plan to disperse animals across veterinary hospitals or newly designated shelters, yet critics caution that suitable facilities will take months to establish. Without transparent planning and safeguards, rushed placements allegedly expose animals to neglect, disease, and further trauma.
This moment demands emergency action. Demand the closing site remain open temporarily under independent veterinary management, and that no animal is euthanized for space. A public placement plan with timelines, daily welfare checks, and third-party oversight must be mandated. The city should investigate any allegedly substandard housing decisions and hold responsible parties to account. Humane transition first, accountability next.
PETITION LETTER:
Mayor Yoo,
We are alarmed by reports that more than 100 abandoned animals, many of them large dogs, are being displaced as a shelter closes despite emergency budget action. Rushed transfers to improvised sites risk disease, injury, and preventable deaths. A recent local case reportedly describing animals kept in outdoor wire cages underscores how quickly inadequate housing can turn into cruelty.
We urge you to immediately authorize an emergency extension at the closing facility under independent veterinary supervision. Direct a moratorium on euthanasia for space during the transition. Require a transparent placement plan that prioritizes large-dog needs, mandates daily welfare checks, and publishes capacity and care standards for every receiving site.
Please open an inquiry into any allegedly unsafe placements and pursue administrative or legal consequences where warranted. These animals did not choose this crisis. They deserve safe housing, competent care, and a future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Maeng9981
