제 13 호 Cat Road Kill Accident at Sangmyung University & Sangnyangheng
Kicker: SM NEWS (Sangnyangheng)
Cat Road Kill Accident
at Sangmyung University & Sangnyangheng
By Sol-Hyang Park, Editor-in-chief
Anyone who has been to Sangmyung University Seoul Campus at least once, can see many cats living there. Many students get interested in them, and adore them – the cats are even nicknamed “sang-nyang-I.” However, do you know that theres is a great danger lurking around them? It is a “CAR.”
Cats Dying from Cars
Every year, many animals die from vehicles. Over the past three years from 2018 to 2021, the number of road kills (based on carcasses) in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do reached 87,581. The number of road kills is increasing every year in both Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, of which cats accounted for the highest portion (73% in Seoul and 65% in Gyeonggi) - Seven out of 10 roadkills in downtown Seoul are cats.
This danger also exists within Sangmyung University. Currently, about 20 cats live on Seoul Campus, and one of them had a hit-and-run accident inNovember last year. Fortunately, thanks to “Sangnyangheng,” several cats were able to get necessary surgeries and treatments. Sangnyangheng is a Sangmyung University Seoul Campus club that opened in October last year. Through an interview with Sangnyangheng, we could hear some stories about related safety issues, including the accident and their activities. The interview was conducted in writing with Sangyangheng members.
Interview with Sangnyangheng
1. Please introduce Sangnyangheng.
Hello! We are Sangnyangheng : Companion for Coexistence with Sangmyung (University) Cats.
We are doing various activities for the coexistence of each ecosystem subject within Sangmyung ecosystem including street cats (referred to as “Sang Yang-I”), faculty students & staffs campus members, nearby merchants, and residents.
2. A cat "Yobi" had a hit-and-run accident at school in November last year. I wonder how you found Yobi and took care of it.
On November 22th, 2021, we got a report that a street cat was hit by a car at Sangmyung University Seoul Campus. We rushed to the spot and immediately transferred Yobi to the hospital, but it was diagnosed with paraplegia in the hind legs due to spinal fractures and nerve damage. Yobi had a surgery to connect the broken spinal pieces.We decided on surgery and care, and Yobi had a major surgery to connect the broken spinal pieces. However, since the paralysis was caused by nerve damage, Yobi still has a lower body paralysis even after the surgery. Therefore, after being discharged from the hospital, Yobi is now staying in a temporary shelter in loving care from members with rehabilitation treatment for nerve regeneration.
Yobi is now staying in a temporary shelter in loving care.
5. I wonder how Sangnyangheng will cope with these safety issues or how you are currently coping with them.
We think that we can prevent the death and injury of animals caused by cars by everyone's efforts. Last year, we held a "car bonnet morning knock campaign" to wake cats resting under parked cars before driving. This year, we are planning a "Vehicle slow-down campaign on campus" to make a safe campus for both animals and humans. In addition, we will post contents to provide information about roadkill and improve awareness of it.
6. What are some ways we can do to prevent such accidents?
Please make bonnet knocks, slowing down safely, and keeping eyes on the road a part of your life - when you drive cars, motorcycles, and bicycles on campus and in residential areas. These few easy actions can prevent unnecessary sacrifices of street cats who are members of the urban ecosystem. Above all, these actions will protect the safety of both animals and people living together in the city.
7. What are your future plans and goals?
The most immediate goal ahead of us is to help Yobi stay healthy and enjoy life in the temporary shelter and eventually find a family that will be with it forever. Moreover, as we said earlier, we will continue to do our job to prevent such accidents and protect the safety of the SangYang-Is. Besides, we are planning various activities such as fun events, goods sales, TNR(Trap-Neuter-Reurn), and creating visual campaigns, so please stay tuned!
Ultimately, our biggest goal and plan is to create a friendly (being ‘sangnyang’) campus where all living things can coexist healthily and peacefully.
8. Lastly, if there is anything you want to say to readers, please.
A funding project <요비야, 함께걷자> for the lower paraplegic cat Yobi is ongoing on the Tumblbug site. You can browse by accessing the site (www.tumblbug.com/walkwithyobi) directly or searching "상냥행" or "요비" on the Tumblbug site search box. We planned the project and produced goods for Yobi by ourselves, so please give us a lot of attention and support. We believe that preventing street cat accidents on campus is the job of all Sangmyung University members. Please pay attention to not only Yobi but also big and small problems that occur in the campus ecosystem. Thank you.
As Sangnyangheng said, if we just take some actions like looking around the road, slowing down, giving them signals (making bonnet knocks), we can prevent these animal accidents. I would like to express my gratitude to Sangnyangheng for telling us such valuable stories, I hope that our small interests gather to create a campus where humans and animals coexist beautifully. Moreover, if you want to give them a greater help, you can sponsor them, so please check Sangnyangheng’s Instagram account for more information.
(@smu_cat / https://instagram.com/smu_cat?utm_medium=copy_link)
Sources:
https://instagram.com/smu_cat?utm_medium=copy_link
https://m.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2022020822240002267
