Braving the pre-typhoon weather, dozens of dogs participated in yesterday’s dog-a-thon, the first parade for pets ever held in Taipei.
The event, organized by Animals Taiwan, was held at Civic Plaza in front of Taipei City Hall on World Animal Day yesterday. Hundreds of animal lovers and dozens of dogs, from Labradors to golden retrievers, were at the event.
Despite poor weather as Typhoon Parma approaches Taiwan, the rain did not put out the passion of animal lovers who attended.
PHOTO: CNA
A 40-year-old woman surnamed Chiang was in attendance, along with her husband and their black-haired poodle. Both wore the same light-blue T-shirts, while the poodle wore a doggie raincoat.
“I came because I want my dog to meet and socialize with other dogs,” she said.
Dozens of stalls, from food and beverage sponsors to veterinarians and other pet-related services, were set up.
World Animal Day originated at an ecological convention in Florence, Italy, in 1931. Though it started as a means to shed light on the plight of endangered species, since then it has become a celebration of all animal species around the world. It is held every year on Oct. 4 in honor of the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Among notable attendees were Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤), Discovery Channel’s Fun Taiwan show host Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬) and celebrity Ivy Hsu (許嘉凌).
“We hope to create an environment where animals can be free of suffering and promote the use of humane methods to resolve the problem of stray animals,” Animals Taiwan secretary-general Rosa Huang (黃蘊茹) said. “This time, we want to use the opportunity of World Animal Day to tell the people of Taiwan and the world that adoption saves, abandonment kills.”
Comprising mainly volunteers, Animals Taiwan was established five years ago to deal with pet overpopulation through education, adoption and outreach programs. The organization became a government-registered non-profit group last year.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS