(KR) KAPS new animal shelter at Boeun is opened

[Guest guest]

The Korean Animal Protection Society's new animal shelter at Boeun, North

Chungcheong Province, opened on April 15.

 

The spacious new shelter is set in a wooded, hilly area away from busy city

traffic.

 

The shelter will serve as both a care center for abandoned, abused and rescued

animals and a national public education centre.

 

To see photos of the shelter and its surrounds, and of speakers and guests at

the ceremony, click on the group ribbon cutting photo on the main KAPS page.

 

There were Appreciation Plaques presented to people instrumental in making the

shelter a reality.

 

http://www.koreananimals.or.kr

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Sunnan Kum's speech at the Ceremony:

 

" Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to thank every one of you with

all my heart for visiting us from inside and outside of the country to celebrate

the opening of our new Boeun Animal Shelter of KAPS.

 

Back in 1986, I purchased a land measuring about 496m2 in Daemyoung-dong, Daegu

City for the first time. It was for the purpose of taking care of abandoned cats

and dogs. It seemed really spacious at that time, I thought. Because, till then,

I had been assured that there wouldn't be so many abandoned animals. I used to

believe that any man or woman who encountered such helpless animals unable to

speak for themselves will take good care of them with sympathy.

 

However, now I know that I was so naive and foolish to have had that belief. I

found many cats and dogs suffering in extreme starvation and thirst all over

this country. Warm-hearted people would often bring me such animals instead of

selling them to a dog-trader or at a market. In no time, the land of 496m2 was

fully occupied by cats, dogs, and even wild animals.

 

I was drowning in unspeakable shock and sorrow, but I had to pull myself

together and thought about what was wrong and what I should do from then on.

Firstly, people need to be educated and informed in order to cultivate the

thought that every single life has its own dignity. Secondly, we need to

generate publicity for the importance of sterilization, as an obvious method we

can reduce the number of abandoned animals. And at the same time, we urgently

need a larger animal shelter.

 

We always dreamed of an animal shelter in a good extensive environment. But it

was only a dream on our economic conditions year after year till a

Korean-American eco-activisit, Danny Suh, gave an unexpected fund-aid of 25,000

dollars in the year 2000. The fund was the seed to build up our new shelter.

However, the dream we had was not going to be realized so quickly. It took about

7 years against all the odds to complete the construction of our new animal

shelter, which is located in the forest with fresh air all around, and 10 times

larger in size than the one in Daegu. I cannot be happier now to have met those

who have the same belief in our heart, and to have realized our long-cherished

desire together.

 

However, frankly speaking, my real wish does not lie in building up more and

more shelters everywhere in this country. The animals grown in the human hands

are no better than babies who are unable to express their thought in words. Only

if the owners of those animals have the conscience and responsibility to keep

them till the end… And only if people have the tradition to think in the place

of those weak animals… there will be no abandoned animals at all. And

naturally, we won't need animal shelters any longer. This is my real wish and

desire.

 

Loving animals means loving any life on earth, which, in turn, means loving

humans. I have had this reassurance ever since I got to take care of a sick

kitten which had serious skin disease in 1982. By loving our animals, we must

make every single effort to make Korea a peaceful and warm country, not the

country of animal abuse but the international example of loving animals.

 

I would like to send you many thanks again to help us build up this animal

shelter, whch can be recorded as the first animal protection center in the

history of Korea. And with this pride in our heart, we will have to try harder

to protect our animals. For your reference, the names of supporters who

dedicated a lot are carved on the wall of our management building. "

 

http://www.koreananimals.or.kr/zboard_en/view.php?id=notice & no=14

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Boeun Shelter Dogs:

 

The first eight residents of the shelter include a Siberian Husky, Alaskan

Malamutes, a Pointer, a Jindos, a German Shepherd and a Great Pyrenees; big dogs

able to run freely in the fenced in yard.

 

http://www.koreananimals.or.kr/zboard_en/view.php?id=notice & no=12