People caught abusing stray cats or dogs can be subject to heavy fines or a maximum one-year prison term, a Council of Agriculture (COA) official said on Thursday.
The announcement came in response to reports of animal abuse in recent weeks.
Hsu Kuei-sen (許桂森), director of the COA’s Animal Industry Department, said that the Animal Protection Act (野生動物保育法) prohibits maltreatment or abuse of animals, with violators facing fines of between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million (US$30,000) or prison sentences of up to one year.
Anyone who spots animal abuse can report it to city or county animal protection authorities, Hsu said, adding that if a case is considered a danger to public security, it should be reported to the closest police station.
In the latest alleged animal abuse case, a pet dog raised by a 78-year-old woman in Chiayi County was shot dead by the military last weekend after the animal strayed onto a runway at Chiayi air base.
The owner said she was not convinced her dog would have entered the off-limits area because it was a pet and not a stray.
The Chiayi County Animal Disease Quarantine Bureau said it had launched an investigation into the case and added that if it were found that air base staff randomly shot the animal, they would be fined.
An air force officer visited the dog’s elderly owner a day earlier to apologize for the killing. According to the officer, pilots were conducting landing and takeoff training when the dog strayed onto the runway.
“As it was an emergency situation, a non-commissioned officer shot the dog,” the officer said, adding that his colleague was doing so in line with air force standard operating procedures to ensure flight safety.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS