The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday said it is planning to ban the ownership or importation of 955 more animals, including racoons and alligator snapping turtles.
The Department of Animal Welfare in a meeting on Friday discussed amendments to the ministry’s List of Animals Banned from Being Owned, Imported or Exported, with the goal of adding more species to it.
The department said the addition of 955 animals to the list was based on three major considerations.
Photo courtesy of the Animal Disease Control Center of Changhua County
First, priority was given to animals that were not included in the Schedule of Protected Species as specified in Article 4 of the Act on Wildlife Conservation (野生動物保育法).
Second, species that were regulated in other countries but had no records of formal imports to Taiwan were pre-emptively added to the list.
Third, species carrying deadly venom or posing public safety risks — causing death, serious injuries or great pain — were also included.
Animals banned from import or ownership include the spectacled caiman, all species of the Dasypodidae family, Castor genus and Canidae family, except for domestic dogs, the department said.
Animals banned from ownership include eight categories, such as Burmese pythons, raccoons, and all species of the Chelydridae family, it added.
The Taiwan Amphibian and Reptile Association on Saturday in a Facebook post said that the 955 added species were decided by the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
“An agricultural policy formulated by an agricultural agency was entrusted to an industrial research institute for evaluation, instead of an institution specializing in wildlife and unusual and eccentric pets, and the agency adopted its evaluation results. This approach is unacceptable,” it said.
While many species were banned due to public safety risks or animal welfare issues, the department could prohibit almost all species from ownership if animal welfare is its main concern, it said.
“All people or entities owning amphibians or reptiles as eccentric pets might be accused of abusing animals and infringing animal rights,” it added.
The policy might not be effectively implemented, as local governments’ animal welfare units do not have enough workers to identify the 955 additions and to accommodate the captured animals, it said.
National Taiwan Normal University Department of Life Science professor Lin Si-min (林思民) said the listed species were certain to be risky, but keeping cats or dogs as pets also involves risks.
The point is to manage the risks and educate the owners, he said.
If the ministry’s policy develops into comprehensive prohibition, such ownership might be forced underground while the problem remains, Lin said, calling for enhanced risk management and owner education instead.
Department of Animal Welfare Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said the list and the implementation date are being discussed, and not all 955 species would immediately be banned.
The final decision on pet ownership bans would be based on the greatest possible common ground, which would be identified through meetings and discussion, he said.
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