Busan Illegal Puppy Mill — The government’s policy promoting unchecked growth in the pet industry, including multi-level pet sales, has catastrophically failed.

4 min readMar 1, 2025

Sharing from: https://koreandogs.org/busan-puppy-mill/

Sharing for Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA)

On October 17th, 2024, “Lucy’s Friends,” a coalition of animal welfare organizations, rescued 587 severely abused dogs from an illegal breeding facility in Gangseo District, Busan. For two decades, this facility subjected dogs to relentless forced breeding, selling puppies at auctions, and discarding exhausted breeding animals. This cruelty thrived without adequate regulation.

Rescuers found dogs crammed into filthy, four-tiered wire cages, some stacked to the ceiling, creating a nightmarish labyrinth. Animals were covered in excrement, fur matted, teeth missing, and eyes infected. Many were blind or suffering from hernias. Some were too weak or severely injured to stand, and others were found dead.

The air was thick with the stench of excrement and ammonia, and dogs were forced to eat rotten chicken in an environment filled with maggots and decomposing waste. The facility engaged in numerous illegal activities, including occupying national land and suspected unlawful euthanasia with restricted drugs.

During the rescue, a mother dog gave birth on the bare wire floor of a cage without even a towel. Puppies born in these horrific conditions were sold through auctions to pet shops and presented as commodities. It is estimated that about 20% of the 587 rescued dogs were pregnant and about to give birth.

❓❗Did consumers purchasing pets from shops know these animals originated from such appalling conditions?

Despite the breeder’s history of extreme animal abuse, they easily obtained a “small-scale production” license after the 2020 permit system was implemented. They also operated an illegal puppy factory 30 times larger than the permitted scale at another location. The current legal system is incapable of curbing the illegal breeding, distribution, and sale of pets.

☑️The first step to controlling an industry that treats life solely as a means for profit is passing the “Lucy Law” to abolish auction houses and pet shops that promote factory-style production of dogs. “Lucy’s Friends” is spearheading the “Lucy’s Law” proposal in the 22nd National Assembly, and we will not rest until it is enacted. This rescue is just the beginning. Please support the rescued animals and join our fight for the Korean “Lucy’s Law.”🙏

◆ Organizations involved in the rescue:
Neowa Hamge Nyang, Animal Rights Freedom Neowa, Animal Rights Rights Advocates(KARA), Animal Protection Organization LIFE, Dengdengi Flower Shelter, Protect Dorothy, Aniband, Angel Project, We Act, Yoo Umpa, Korean Dogs, Cocker Friends, TBT Rescue, Pug Rescue of Korea, With the Dog, Love the Dog, Happy Stray Dog World, CRK, LCKD, KK9, and two individual rescuers.