Man fined for relocating cats cared for by apartment residents

A man in his 30s has been fined for relocating stray cats that residents had been caring for inside an apartment complex.

The First Criminal Division 1-3 of the Gwangju District Court upheld a fine of 5 million won ($3,680) against the defendant, identified only as A, on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act, according to legal sources Thursday. The appellate court dismissed his appeal, keeping the sentence identical to the first-instance ruling.

A was indicted on charges of luring stray cats with traps and treats on eight occasions between March and April last year near the underground parking area of an apartment complex in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, confining them in the trunk of his vehicle and releasing them the following day at a park about 9 kilometers away. The cats had been fed and provided with shelter by nearby residents.

A also posted about the capture and relocation process on a secondhand trading app — describing it as his "third stray cat relocation release" — and used derogatory terms for both the cats and the residents who cared for them.

The trial court imposed the fine, ruling that A had deprived the cats — territorial animals accustomed to being fed by residents at their established habitat — of the hunting grounds, mating areas and resting spaces essential for survival by moving them to a distant park, threatening their survival and reproduction and causing them suffering. A argued he had simply moved the cats to a safer place and had no intent to abuse them, but the court rejected the claim.

The appellate court found that intent to abuse had been established, saying A had known the cats depended on food provided by people yet repeatedly captured them in the same manner, and had also been aware that the cats would struggle to survive at the relocated park under the same conditions.