Currently, the South Korean government mandates dog owners to register their pets using near-field communication chips that are either inserted into the flesh of a dog or into a pendant-type holder that can be attached to a necklace.
More than 110,000 dogs are abandoned in South Korea annually. While about 30 percent of the canines are lucky enough to find new homes, the rest are euthanized after staying at a dog shelter for about a month.
Changwon City said that the dog nose wrinkle registration service will start on September 23. Dog nose wrinkles are similar to humans' fingerprints that never change. Dog owners can register their dogs using a photograph of their dog's nose and insert key information such as the contact number of the owner.
The port city government office said that when a stray dog comes into a shelter, shelter operators will first search for the owner of the dog using the nose wrinkle information. "We hope to lower the rate of dogs being abandoned or lost and take a step closer to the realization of animal welfare," a Changwon City official said in a statement on September 20.
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