Animal rights groups on Jeju Island held a joint press conference in front of a local court on Tuesday, expressing discontent over a recent ruling against two individuals who captured and killed wild animals in a brutal manner.
"The animal abusers who tortured wild animals for four years must be handed the highest possible punishment allowed by law so that such heinous crimes do not occur again," the groups said in a statement in front of the Jeju District Court, criticizing the court for what they said was a lenient punishment. They also called for the prosecution to immediately appeal the ruling, which was issued last week.
The main culprit in the animal abuse case, aged 35, has been accused of hunting and killing 160 wild animals on the island on 125 occasions, between December 2020 and March of this year. His 31-year-old accomplice participated in eight of those hunts, from March 2023 to March of this year.
The Wildlife Protection and Management Act only allows hunting with permits and bans dangerous methods such as explosives, traps, trap pits and toxic substances. The law also bans killing wild animals in a cruel way, or inflicting pain without justifiable cause.
But it was found that the pair had set dogs on the animals to maim them, and used brutal means such as striking the animals on the head multiple times with rocks and stabbing them with specially-made spears and knives. The main culprit filmed and shared video of the killings with members of his online community.
In the investigation, they falsely told police that their dogs "accidentally attacked the wild animals while on a walk." They eventually admitted the charges in the trial.
The main culprit and his accomplice were each sentenced to a two-year prison term and a suspended jail term by the Jeju District Court. Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for the main culprit and a one-year term for his accomplice.
The court said that the defendants' crimes were cruel and necessitated a stern punishment, with the judge saying to the defendants at one point during the hearings, "Is this something a human could do? It's too cruel." But the court eventually handed the pair a reduced sentence, saying it considered the fact that they have no prior records, that they are remorseful for their crimes, and that they have families to support.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
