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Companion animal in San Francisco
San Francisco is a city where you can meet dogs everywhere. Although the number of dogs has increased a lot in Korea, it is no exaggeration to say that San Francisco has dogs wherever you go.
San Francisco is a typical dog city in the United States.In fact, the largest number of pet-related companies in the United States are located in San Francisco. As dogs are socially acceptable in most places, most facilities allow dogs to be accompanied by people.
In Golden Gate Park, which is one of the most famous places in SF,there are many dog playgrounds where you can freely play with your dogs without a leash. On weekends, it is not difficult to see many citizens taking a walkand resting on the grass with their dogs. Also, dogs can take public transportation and sometimes sit on the chair. There’s controversy that this behavior is right or not, but It is worth noting that citizens do not take this situation negatively.
Since San Francisco has a social consciousness for animal welfare, policy revisions for pets have also been made. In 2017, the city of San Francisco unanimously passed a bill that would force pet shops to sell only rescued or abandoned pets. The purpose was to prevent inhumane act of commercially breeding dogs, so-called ‘puppy mill’. And it has been successfully implemented so far.In addition, abandoned animal protection facilities are operating at a high level, thanks to a fairly high subsidies of $6.5 million per year. The unanimous passage of the bill and substantialsubsidies are result of public support.
In Korea, the number of people who love animals is increasing, and awareness of animal rights and welfare is growing.However, it is difficult to say that high level of social consciousness has been fully settled. We continuously hear news about animal abuse cases.I hope awareness of animal welfare to grow further in Korea. Significant changes can be made only when citizens reach social consensus with a common perception and awareness of the problem.