A pet funeral home in South Korea has been accused of euthanising at least 90 animals over three years – most of which were not beyond saving.
Former employees of the facility, in the south-eastern city of Ulsan, said most of the pets brought there for mercy killing were not critically ill, according to a report on Aug 20 by local broadcaster MBN News.
A few were perfectly healthy when they were put down, often by staff who were not licensed veterinarians, the report added.
One employee told MBN the animals were driven to remote locations and given lethal drugs, often without anaesthesia. The procedures were not carried out in veterinary clinics or hospitals.
In one instance, an employee parked his vehicle under a highway bridge and euthanised a dog in his car.
“He overdosed it with muscle relaxants to force the heart to stop,” the former employee told MBN.
Hinting at the cruelty with which the animals were put down, a physician interviewed in the report said this method “paralyses the muscles and may look painless, but since consciousness remains, the animal suffers till death”.
The pet killings happened from 2020 to 2023.
MBN said the pet owners consented to having their pets euthanised.
They took the animals to the funeral home after they were turned away by veterinary clinics and hospitals, or to save money.
“If an animal can still walk and eat, the hospital won’t put it down. So, the owners bring them here instead,” the former employee interviewed by MBN said.
She said many of the animals were indeed sick, and a few may have been way past medical care.
“But some could still move around, and a few were perfectly healthy,” she said.
Police are investigating the person who ran the pet funeral home, which shut down in 2024.
South Korean laws say a pet can only be euthanised for “justifiable reasons”, such as when it poses a danger to humans.
Putting down pets without proper veterinary procedures or using cruel methods is punishable with three years’ jail or a maximum fine of 30 million won (S$27,600).
