"Decide After Living Together for 10 Days?" Controversy Over Trial Adoption System

A system has been introduced allowing people to live with abandoned animals for up to ten days before officially adopting them, but why are so many people concerned?

The government introduced the trial adoption system on September 1.

While the intention is to reduce returns and re-abandonments, concerns are also rising that it could easily turn into a trial-run adoption.

Under this trial adoption system, prospective adopters can take a shelter animal home and live with them for up to ten days to observe their personality and behavioral traits, as well as how well they adapt to family members or existing pets, before making a final decision on adoption.

Behind the introduction of this system lies the low adoption rate.

Last year, as many as 96,000 lost and abandoned animals were rescued, but the adoption rate remained at just one out of every four animals.

The government believes that identifying issues like separation anxiety or house-training problems ahead of time—which may not be apparent at the shelter—can help reduce impulsive adoptions and returns.

However, criticism is emerging online, with comments saying, "Are animals objects to be test-driven?" and "This makes adoption even more casual."

The government stated that this is a process premised on final adoption rather than a simple trial adoption, and added that if any problems are identified during the pilot operation, they will improve the way it is operated.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.