“The National Institute of Animal Science exceeds the plan for disposing of research animals… Management must be improved.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Guk-ki = It was revealed that the National Institute of Animal Science has discarded about 134,000 research animals over the past five years, about 11,000 more than originally planned.

According to the office of Rep. Kang Seung-gyu (People Power Party) of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on the 11th, the National Institute of Animal Science, a national research institute under the Rural Development Administration, discarded 134,220 research animals from 2021 to last year.

The Rural Development Administration manages products produced through testing and research projects of its affiliated organizations in accordance with the Directive on Product Management and establishes a product disposal plan every year.

Disposal of products is determined for research and development, distribution, sale, donation, and disposal.

Among these, disposal refers to research products that are discarded because they cannot be used for purposes such as research, distribution, sale, or donation. Cases where there is a risk of leakage of vital resources or death due to disease are eligible for disposal.

Over the past five years, a total of 123,218 research animals were disposed of according to the National Institute of Animal Science's disposal plan, but the number of research animals actually discarded was 11,022 more than originally planned.

In particular, last year, it was originally planned to discard 14,380 animals, but in reality, 23,082 animals were discarded.

Of these, the lawmaker's office reported that 3,824 chickens were found to have been culled early to reduce chicken costs.

Unlike the inevitable discarding of test livestock during research due to disease outbreaks, the livestock was discarded earlier than planned for reasons of reducing breeding costs.

Livestock discarded by species over the past five years were 117,02 chickens, 14,695 ducks, 2,012 pigs, 175 goats, 153 Korean beef, 121 dairy cows, 32 horses, 27 deer, 2 dogs, and 1 cow.

On the other hand, the amount used for research and development was less than originally planned.

During the same period, the total number of test livestock planned for research and development projects was 59,347, but the actual number was 36,264, which was 23,083 fewer than the original plan.

Rep. Kang pointed out, “Due to the nature of the institution, it is inevitable to dispose of test livestock upon completion of research, but the significant difference between the planned and actual disposal amounts every year must be improved.”

At the same time, he suggested, “As there have been cases where thousands of animals were culled early for cost-saving purposes, there is a need to improve the management system for test livestock.”

In response to this, the Korea Institute of Livestock Science explained, “The chickens were culled early because they were old chickens,” adding, “As a result, the cost of chickens was reduced, and they were not culled to save costs.”