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A dog with an arrow through its body was recently found wandering along a road in Jeju. Animal rights groups have demanded severe punishment for those responsible.

On Tuesday, an organization calling itself Jeju Network for a World Without Abandoned Animals made up of various animal protection groups filed a complaint with the police, demanding an “intensive investigation” into the case, while calling for the perpetrators to be “severely punished.”

The organization also brought up other recent cases of animal abuse, including the case of a dog named Juhongi who was abandoned near a shelter in Jeju back in April with its paws bound and its snout taped shut, and the case of a poodle who was buried alive in the Naedo neighborhood the same month.

“In a reality where the rate of imprisonment for violating the Animal Protection Act is less than 1 percent even if cruel and horrendous animal abuse is committed, animal cruelty is growing and continues due to dispositions not to institute a public action by courts, fines amounting to several hundred thousand won, and probations,” the organization argued.

The dog with the arrow injury was first discovered around 8:30 am on Friday, when he was wandering along a road in Hangyeong, a township in Jeju City.

Police and firefighters who were dispatched to the scene after receiving the report took the dog and transported it to a nearby veterinary hospital to have the arrow surgically removed. As of now, there is no immediate threat to the dog’s life.

The length of the arrow that penetrated the dog’s side measured 70 centimeters, or 27.5 inches.

Meeting with reporters, Lim Sang-woo, chief of the Jeju Seobu Police Station, said, “We will investigate cases of violations of the Animal Protection Act, such as cruelty to animals, based on crimes against the socially disadvantaged."

By Heo Ho-Joon, Jeju correspondent

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