A wild cat relaxes on a rock at Mount Bukhan towards the background of western Seoul on Jan. 27, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Feeding cats in nationwide parks is an act of disturbing the ecosystem and is strictly prohibited. Nevertheless, a lack of knowledge is inflicting a collection of disputes among the many public.
Not too long ago, a lot of complaints demanded that officers chorus from capturing and killing the cats in Mt. Seorak Nationwide Park or launch them in locations the place they don’t belong.
The dispute started with a banner that was put up final spring that mentioned “feeding stray cats or wild animals in a nationwide park destroys the setting.”
A customer learn the banner and misunderstood the park’s intent that officers have been making an attempt to “get rid of” stray cats within the space, and inspired others to submit complaints on-line.
For the ecosystem, cats are an exterior risk as they hunt small birds and animals, not essentially to feed on them.
As such, cats that enter nationwide parks, wetlands, and different protected areas are thought-about ‘wild animals’ and topic to seize.
This is available in distinction to the place cats are protected in cities and different areas by the Ministry of Meals and Rural Affairs and native authorities based mostly on the Animal Safety Act.
Sources confirmed {that a} complete of 1,269 cats have been captured in nationwide parks from 2015 to September of this 12 months.
Many of the cats which can be captured are neutered and launched again to their unique habitat.
Captured cats have been slaughtered till 2017. As a result of moral causes, nevertheless, captured cats have been launched again into the wild since 2018 after being neutered.
This, nevertheless, isn’t the entire resolution. Neutering solely deprives cats of their skill and can to breed. Neutered cats which can be launched nonetheless hunt and feed.
Cats have the intuition to guard their territory. As soon as they’re neutered, nevertheless, they lose the flexibility to take action, permitting different cats to freely trespass their territory, repeating the identical downside again and again.
Lina Jang ([email protected])
