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KAPES on the Move
IF A POPULACE REMAINS unaware of and indifferent to a law that is only nominally enforced, even the strictest measures become useless. One of the many challenging tasks facing IAKA/KAPES is creating awareness about the new Animal Protection Law and making sure it is enforced. For this reason KAPES director Hae-sun Park has been extremely busy publicizing the legislation, educating the Seoul populace, and making sure the laws are obeyed and understood. It is KAPES’ goal to tap into the governmental resources available for such activities, but this time-consuming work is still largely dependent upon foreign support and a growing network of donors and volunteers.
Park’s first stop was at the Sungdong-Gu Police Department in Seoul, on May 21, 2008. Park delivered a lecture based around the Animal Protection Law, outlining the responsibilities the Seoul police have under the law, and suggesting ways the law would best be enforced. Five different brochures were distributed in quantities of 200 each: one on cat care, dog care, stray management, the benefits on spaying/neutering, and a KAPES introductory brochure. These brochures will be circulated around the department and distributed throughout the district. The Sungdong-Gu Police Department also is host to a community center for young persons, which sponsors children’s activities, field trips, classes, etc. KAPES will be working with centers of this kind to help promote the new law as well.
Park traveled the same day to Choongnam University, where she participated in a fundraiser for a shelter in Daejeon (which she had visited a week before). The “Pet Love Festival,” sponsored by the veterinary department of the university, was a success. The event attracted the attention of many young adult animal lovers and drew attention to issues like adoption, spay/neuter, and shelters in need. The following day, Park visited the Ministry of Agriculture, which had invited KAPES and other Korean animal protection organizations to participate in the preparation of TV advertisements and programs on the revised Animal Protection Law.
Park’s busy schedule, hectic though it may seem, is just the beginning. She has been making international visits as well, to learn from the example of other rescue centers (such as the SAA center, pictured on our front page), and she shows no signs of slowing down her KAPES publicity drive. ‡