Pet Imports Double in Pandemic

Imports of cats and dogs and other pets have doubled in the last two years as locked-down Koreans sought new companions.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday, 10,241 cats and dogs were imported by air from January to August this year, nearly twice as many as in the first eight months of 2019 and 10.5 percent more than the same period last year.

Imports of dogs rose 91.1 percent from two years ago and of cats a whopping 115.5 percent.

The KCS said this was due to more Koreans spending time cooped up at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted a survey on 5,000 people from Oct. 7 to 23 last year, and 27.7 percent said they had a pet, 1.3 percent more than the previous year.