As a legal amendment that scraps the practice of euthanizing stray animals is to take effect in February next year, animal welfare groups yesterday questioned whether local governments are prepared for the change, asking them to take measures to implement the law.
Life Conservationist Association executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳), along with animal rights campaigners and legislators across party lines, said that with less than a year to go before the amended Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) takes effect, “we have to ask the local governments whether they are prepared to end euthanasia or would they simply try to deceive the public when the time comes.”
The act was amended in February last year, scrapping a clause that stipulated that animal shelters may kill animals 12 days after publishing a notification to call on people to reclaim or adopt them.
“As of last year, 1.23 million animals have been euthanized or died due to other causes in animal shelters since 1999, when public shelters started to euthanize the animals,” Ho said.
“While the nation’s overall percentage of euthanizing sheltered animals dropped to 14 percent in 2015, Pingtung County ranked first with 55 percent [1,966 cats and dogs] of the sheltered animals being euthanized. It is followed by Nantou County’s 48 percent [2,196], Changhua County’s 46 percent [1,645], Kinmen County’s 41 percent [551], Keelung’s 37 percent [488] and Penghu’s 31 percent [257]. All other cities and counties are below 20 percent,” Ho said.
“The average adoption rate in the nation increased from 58 percent in 2014 to 70 percent last year. It seems like a big increase, but in terms of real numbers only about 2,000 additional animals were adopted last year. There is still room for improvement, as we are pushing the idea of having school dogs, community dogs and public service dogs,” he said.
More than 30 percent of the nation’s population have pets, National Taiwan Normal University’s Animal Rights Promotion Front leader Lin Wei-jen (林韋任) said. “However, not only should a more pet-friendly environment be built, but the government should prepare itself for a zero-euthanasia era.”
Besides the zero-euthanasia policy, the government should also increase its oversight of breeding facilities and support “trap-neuter-return” programs through legislation, said Liao Cheng-chieh (廖證傑), a member of National Chung Hsing University’s Life Care club.
Increasing the pet adoption rate is important for the zero-euthanasia policy, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said, adding that the proposed amendment to the Condominium Administration Act (公寓大廈管理條例) that scraps the provision that grants condo management committees the authority to prohibit pet ownership would be of great help.
She said that she has also proposed to raise the fine for running illegal breeding facilities, from the current range of between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000 (US$1,544 to US$7,721) to between NT$100,000 and NT$3 million.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) called on the central and local governments to continue their zero-euthanasia efforts.
New Power Party Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) said that some of the shelters are in need of improvement and asked the authorities to advocate the idea that purchasing pets should be replaced by adoption.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper