Thirty-nine dogs have died in Chiayi County since Monday, allegedly due to heat exhaustion, after 70 dogs and a cat were loaded into a vehicle designed to carry just 20 animals, leading to the head of a local animal agency and other personnel being demoted.
A Chiayi Livestock Disease Control Center veterinarian transported the animals to a local private shelter on Monday, but 26 dogs — 13 adults and 13 puppies — were dead on arrival at the shelter, despite resuscitation efforts.
The death toll rose to 39 yesterday, with the dead animals being cremated following a religious ceremony.
Originally kept at a public shelter and facing euthanasia, the animals were to be admitted to the private shelter.
Videos and photographs of veterinarians and shelter workers trying to resuscitate dogs that lay motionless at the shelter went viral on the Internet, sparking public outrage at the center’s apparent negligence.
“Today is the saddest day since the shelter’s establishment. A car carrying dogs to be euthanized arrived at the shelter, but a volunteer was shocked by what he saw when he opened the trunk: Cages in the car were overcrowded with dogs. Some were already dead and those still alive were dying,” Hsu Wen-liang (徐文良), a shelter worker and brother of the shelter’s owner, wrote on Facebook.
“The shelter only agreed to take in 15 adult dogs and several sick puppies, but the center sent 70 dogs and a cat without informing the shelter. Who gave the order?” Hsu wrote.
The center on Monday apologized over the incident, saying a glitch with the vehicle’s air conditioning and hot weather caused temperatures inside the vehicle to rise too high, resulting in the death of the animals.
However, Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) visited the center and inspected the vehicle. She found that the car’s air conditioning was functioning properly and therefore attributed the incident to the center’s crowding of animals into a small, poorly ventilated space, adding that the animals should have been transported separately instead of in a single trip.
Chang said the county government would establish a standard operating procedure for animal transportation to protect animal welfare, while center director Wong Yo-chu (翁有助) and the veterinarian driving the vehicle have been demoted.
Shelter owner Hsu Wen-hui (徐雯慧) said that, despite the demotions, problems would still exist if the center continues with its present method of operation, adding that allowing animal rights campaigners to be involved with the center and public shelters would improve operations.
SEE CAMBODIAN ON PAGE 6
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College