Animal welfare advocates yesterday panned the soon to-be-
implemented zero animal euthanasia policy following the suspected suicide of a veterinarian, saying that the policy only creates the illusion that shelter animals are cared for, while condemning them to poor living conditions and doing nothing to reduce the number of stray animals.
The suspected suicide of Chien Chih-cheng (簡稚澄), the director of an animal shelter in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋), by animal euthanasia drugs on May 5 has prompted debate about stray animal policies, with the Council of Agriculture reaffirming that the zero euthanasia policy is to take effect next year and proposing a NT$1.9 billion (US$58.18 million) budget to improve shelter facilities and improve animal protection.
“Money is not the point. The problems with stray animals and how they are sheltered is the lack of ‘source management,’” Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) said.
“The council’s budget is aimed at improving shelter facilities and execution of animal protection policy, but allocates no resources on pet owners and breeders — the major source of stray animals — to reduce the number of stray animals. That shows the government does not have the vision to solve the problem,” Chen said.
“The zero euthanasia policy is akin to prescribing a maximum dose of morphine to create a feel-good illusion that shelter animals are well taken cared of. However, animals have to put up with overcrowding at shelters, which are always understaffed and lacking resources, and dogs can easily die from fights and diseases. There is no animal welfare for shelter animals,” he said.
A successful source management policy would see tougher regulations on animal breeding, the establishment of an accountability system for pet owners, comprehensive neutering of domestic animals, and strengthening of requirements for pet purchases and adoptions, she said.
Puppy farms are a major source of stray animals, as they produce more than 160,000 puppies every year, not including unhealthy ones that do not enter the market, she said, adding that more than 100,000 animals are admitted to shelters every year on average, and nearly 70 percent of them are euthanized because they cannot be adopted.
Pet registration has to be undertaken in such a way that owners can be held culpable if they abandon their pets, and a more stringent set of requirements should be in place that would prohibit irresponsible pet owners and substandard animal breeders, she said.
Many pet dogs are not neutered and give birth to puppies that end up in shelters or on the street, she added.
The council said it is following the suggestions of animal welfare groups and promoting pet registration and awareness among breeders and owners.
However, existing laws cannot deter owners from abandoning pets, because the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) does not stipulate punishments for owners who abandon pets at shelters.
Abandoned pets account for about 20 percent of shelter animals, while 60 percent are captured street animals, the council said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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