Breeder jailed for cutting open live dog, illegal euthanasia

The former head operator of a dog breeding facility in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, was sentenced to prison and taken into custody after a court found that the operator cut open a live pregnant dog to remove her puppies and illegally euthanized sick dogs.

The Suwon District Court sentenced the former operator to one year and six months in prison and fined the defendant 3 million won ($2,000) on Wednesday after finding the operator guilty of violating the Animal Protection Act, the Veterinarians Act and the Building Act.

Another manager of the same facility was sentenced to one year and two months in prison.

The court ordered both defendants to be taken into custody immediately after sentencing, citing concerns they might flee.

Other lower-ranking employees of the facility will also face jail time. One received a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years. Two others were each sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The court also ordered them to complete between 120 and 200 hours of community service.

The defendants operated a large-scale dog breeding facility in Hwaseong that housed about 1,400 dogs between May 2022 and August 2023. Prosecutors accused them of cutting open a live pregnant dog without a veterinary license, causing the animal's death.

They were also convicted of killing 15 older dogs infected with contagious diseases by injecting them with muscle relaxants and administering prescription drugs, including vaccines and antibiotics, without a veterinary license.

When authorities first responded to a report at the facility, they discovered 92 dog carcasses wrapped in newspaper inside a freezer.

During the trial, the defendants denied the charges, arguing that “the pregnant dog had already died before the procedure.” They also claimed that even if the dog had still been alive, the operation constituted an emergency act to save the puppies.

The court rejected those arguments, citing disease diagnosis results from the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.

“It is established beyond a reasonable doubt that the pregnant dog was alive when the incision was made, as the tissue showed signs of a biological response, including bleeding and inflammatory cells,” the presiding Judge Seo Jin-won said.

The judge also dismissed the defendants' claim of necessity.

“Even if they intended to save the puppies, cutting open the dog's abdomen on the spot without taking it to an animal hospital or seeking other appropriate treatment cannot be considered acceptable under prevailing social norms,” the judge said.

The court also found the defendants guilty of illegally euthanizing older and sick dogs with little economic value by injecting them with muscle relaxants.

“It has been established that dogs suffering from disease or old age were euthanized under the managers' instructions, and those actions cannot be justified as necessity or other legitimate conduct,” Judge Seo said.

Addressing the charge of administering vaccines without a veterinary license, the judge said companion dogs cannot be regarded as livestock and therefore the defendants' actions could not be justified as self-treatment permitted for livestock farms.

“The defendants demonstrated an extreme disregard for animal life, acting as though animals' lives could be taken whenever doing so served their financial interests,” Judge Seo said while explaining the sentence. “The offenses were therefore highly unlawful and deserving of strong condemnation.”

“However, the court took into consideration that some of the defendants admitted to parts of the charges, that the employees acted passively under their managers' instructions and that they had no prior criminal convictions.”

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]