The Supreme Court has upheld a fine imposed on a dog daycare owner who injured a 10-year-old dog by pressing down on its jaw. While the owner claimed the act was legitimate discipline, the Supreme Court ruled it constituted animal abuse.
According to legal sources Wednesday, the first division of the Supreme Court, with Justice Cheon Dae-yeop as the presiding judge, recently upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced A, a dog daycare operator charged with violating the Animal Protection Act and property damage, to a fine of 3 million won ($2,200).
A, who ran a dog daycare in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, was indicted on charges of injuring a 3.5-kilogram, 10-year-old poodle entrusted to the daycare in July 2024. During training, A grabbed the dog's jaw, pinned it between his legs, and pressed down for approximately 14 minutes, causing injuries including tooth dislocation. A said he did so because the dog had bitten his hand. A's side argued that the act was a legitimate "dominance training" method aimed at preventing the excited dog from biting people or other dogs.
The courts of first and second instance ruled that A's actions went beyond the scope of ordinary discipline generally accepted by society and sentenced him to a fine of 3 million won. The courts found that A, an adult male weighing more than 80 kilograms, had harshly and continuously pressed down on the small elderly dog even though other means of control were available. The courts recognized A's intent to abuse the animal, noting that A continued applying pressure for about 10 minutes even after noticing that the victim dog's teeth were bleeding during training, and stopped only after the dog defecated from being unable to bear the pain.
The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling. "Even if an animal's owner cites raising or training as justification, inflicting pain or injury on an animal when other means exist to prevent a direct threat to human life or body constitutes an act of abuse prohibited by the Animal Protection Act," the Supreme Court said.
