Did you know that 398 domestic bears exist?
What comes to mind when you think of bears in Korea?
It seems that many people think of the half-breasted bear.
The black bears around Mt. Jirisan are managed by the National Park Service.
Occasionally, the appearance of a black bear giving birth or being active is caught on CCTV of the National Park Service and released to the media.
In Korea, apart from these half-breasted bears, there is a bear called 'breeding bear'.
The Ministry of Environment identified the number of individuals as of March last year.
There are 398 in 27 farms across the country.
These captive bears are private property and are managed by their respective owners.
It is not active in the national park area like the Jirisan half-breasted bear.
Most of them live in cages.
They are the same bear under the same sky, but their fate is different from heaven and earth.
What is the history of domestic bears? dating back to the 1980s
So where did these domesticated bears come from?
Most of them are imported bears.
The government encouraged it.
The government thought that domestic bears were money.
The farmer thought that he could make money by raising bears and then re-exporting them.
At this time, bears came from all over Southeast Asia.
The problem was that the bear income stopped shortly after.
First, imports ceased in 1985.
The situation has changed dramatically when bears are on the verge of international extinction.
There has been an atmosphere around the world that bears should not be used in profit-making businesses.
As a result, the way to resell or resell bears that have already been brought into Korea is blocked.
Imported bears, eventually traded domestically… Dealing with eloquence in harsh conditions
On the 6th, two bears escaped from a farm in Yongin.
It is said that these bear owners also imported bears from Southeast Asia in the early 1980s.
At that time, it is said that each bear cost about 8 million won.
According to the farmer, it was the price of an apartment in Jamsil, Seoul.
Farmers can't resell imported bears abroad, so they came up with a way to use them domestically.
In particular, there was a demand for the oratory.
However, there was also a controversy over abuse of gallbladder being removed alive by claiming that they were collecting dung beetles.
In addition, the problem of poor breeding facilities was raised.
Farmers have also kept several domestic bears in a confined space to save on bear management costs.
10-year-old bears can be slaughtered... Can also be used as an eloquence
Under current law, it is possible to harvest dung beetles from dead bears.
Article 22 of the Enforcement Rule of the Wildlife Act provides the relevant information.
Table 5 provides more detailed guidelines for handling bears.
Bears raised from bears imported before 1985 can be used as materials for processed products after 10 years or more.
In a word, it means that it can be slaughtered, and it can be used as an eloquence.
Because of this, some farm owners are still making a profit with domestic bears.
The goal is to maximize profits by minimizing related costs such as breeding bear facilities and food.
Ministry of Environment, neutering of domestic bears… Illegal breeding is still
Domestic bears are the personal property of the farmer.
Moreover, it is a bear that was imported and encouraged by the government.
So, in 2014, the Ministry of Environment conducted neutering of domestic bears.
It was decided to strictly limit breeding of domestic bears and naturally reduce the number of remaining domestic bears.
We have decided to pay compensation in exchange for neutering the bear farmer.
The problem is that not all domestic bears are neutered.
As an exception to this, the Ministry of Environment said that bears for exhibition and viewing purposes do not need to be neutered.
Simply put, the bears in the zoo are allowed to breed.
However, some farm owners said they would use it for exhibition and viewing, and secretly propagated it illegally, which became a problem.
The Ministry of Environment estimates that the bear that escaped from Yongin this time was also an illegal breeding case.
Last May, the punishment of related laws was strengthened
The revised Wildlife Protection Act came into effect last May.
Article 68 Penalty provisions have been strengthened.
Imprisonment for not more than 3 years and a fine of not more than 30 million won.
Previously, it was imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to 10 million won.
In addition, a new provision has been made to punish the illegal breeding of endangered international species such as bears without permission.
It is now possible to punish more severely for violations related to domestic bears.
Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do opens Korea's first bear protection facility
As mentioned earlier, there are still 398 domestic bears left.
Most of them live in a small space of about 3.3㎡.
The problem was that even if the farmer violated wildlife protection laws, it was difficult to confiscate their bears.
Even if the state confiscated it, there were no facilities to raise domestic bears.
Even if the farmer was punished, the domestic bear was still forced to remain on the farm.
Fortunately, we are building the first bear protection facility in Korea in Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do.
It will be completed in 2024 at the earliest.
The capacity is about 75 animals.
The Ministry of Environment and Gurye-gun paid half the cost.
Some domestic bears are allowed to spend the rest of their lives here.
Where is the whereabouts of the one escaped bear from Yongin?
It is known that two bears escaped from Yongin farm on the 6th.
One was found and killed the same day.
A photo of a dead bear's carcass was introduced through the media, adding to the sadness.
The whereabouts of one remaining animal are unknown.
It is said that even if you search the surrounding hills, you can't even find footprints.
The Ministry of Environment and the city of Yongin temporarily stopped the search, but resumed the search on the 12th.
This time, at the suggestion of an animal group, it is said that the plan was to capture instead of kill.
"Aren't they all the same bear and the same life?"
It is the same bear whether it is a domestic bear or a bear in Jirasan National Park.
However, the breeding bears who escaped from Yongin are either killed or chased just because they escaped from the breeding grounds.
Seeing this, Park Eun-jung, the Green Life team leader of the Green Alliance, said, "After all, they are all the same bear, and aren't they the same life?
The escaped bear is said to be a three-year-old weighing about 60 kg. In a way, I hope that the escaped bear will not be caught under the premise that it does not harm humans. If caught now, it will return to the owner's farmer's breeding facility. You might be locked up in a narrow kennel again. It is hoped that it will remain well hidden until 2024, when a bear protection facility is established in Gurye-gun.