Animal protection activists yesterday accused government agencies of not being active enough in prosecuting dog slaughterhouses and dog meat restaurants.
Watching a video clip shot with a hidden camera in a dog slaughterhouse that has a restaurant attached to it selling dog meat dishes, Kaohsiung Concern for Stray Animal Association (KCSAA) chairwoman Wang Hsiao-hua (王小華) burst into tears during a press conference hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇).
The video showed equipment used for slaughtering dogs and processing dog meat, as well as customers enjoying various dog meat dishes in the restaurant.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“You can always trust the food in this restaurant, it’s been around for more than 50 years,” an elderly customer having a dog meat meal with his two grandchildren was filmed as saying.
The dog slaughterhouse, run by Wang Tien-chih (王天枝), not only serves dog meat in the restaurant, but according to his business card, Wang also provides a home delivery service for frozen dog meat.
“This is a well-known dog slaughterhouse and a large dog meat supplier in Chaojhou Township [潮州], Pingtung County. If you ask anyone in Chaojhou who slaughters dogs, they would tell you it’s Wang Tien-chih,” Wang Hsiao-hua said. “How come government agencies are so reluctant to prosecute?”
According to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), the slaughter of pet animals — mainly dogs and cats — and the sale of the meat is prohibited.
Slaughter of dogs and cats can be punished by a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million, while those selling dog or cat meat are subject to a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000, the law stipulates.
Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year, according to the law.
Wang Hsiao-hua said her organization had reported the case to the Pingtung County Department of Agriculture, which is in charge of animal protection, three years ago.
“However, when agents from the department went to Wang Tien-chih’s shop, he insisted that he sold only goat meat and he refused to allow agents into his slaughterhouse or to take samples of the meat,” Wang Hsiao-hua said. “The agents could do nothing about it because they did not have a search warrant.”
KCSAA workers then pretended to be customers, shot video clips with hidden cameras, bought dog meat and turned the evidence over to the county’s Department of Agriculture.
“Officials then told us that it would be difficult to use what we had as evidence in the court, since the samples were not collected legally,” Wang Hsiao-hua said. “The government is so reluctant to act, yet when we acted, they say our evidence may be problematic. What should we do?”
Responding to the KCASS, the Council of Agriculture’s animal protection officer, Lin Tsung-yi (林宗毅), said he would check to see if the county’s Department of Agriculture was having any difficulty with the case and provide it with any assistance it needed.
In addition, a representative from Taiwan Sugar Co’s assets management office, Huang Chin-tsung (黃錦宗), said that the company would immediately terminate its rental contract with Wang Tien-chih. The slaughterhouse and restaurant are on a piece of property rented from the company.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have