Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

Videos showing dogs tethered by leashes inside open truck cargo beds during extreme heat have sparked public outrage after circulating online.

JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," a TV news tip segment, recently aired footage submitted by viewers showing dogs tied up in cargo beds as temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius.

The first clip was filmed by a viewer on July 25 on a highway near Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. The viewer spotted a dog riding in the cargo bed of a truck ahead, secured by nothing more than a single leash.

The dog had no safety restraints beyond a pink leash and was seen with its front paws propped on the edge of the cargo bed, its head hanging over the side — appearing on the verge of falling off. "If the dog had fallen from the truck, it could have been strangled by the leash," the viewer said.

The viewer photographed and filmed the truck and filed a report through Safety Sinmungo, a government safety-reporting platform. The truck's owner later responded, saying the dog had been placed in the cargo bed temporarily because the air conditioning had broken down.

A similar incident was reported in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Another viewer said that on Tuesday they witnessed two dogs tightly leashed in the cargo bed of a truck stopped at a traffic light.

"The outside temperature was nearly 40 degrees at the time, and the dogs were sitting on a metal cargo bed in direct sunlight," the viewer said. "They were also visibly emaciated, which made me furious and worried — that's why I submitted the tip."


choigo@heraldcorp.com