Thousands of people yesterday took to the streets of Taipei calling for ethical controls for stray dogs and cats to mitigate the threat they pose to endangered wildlife.
The event, initiated by students from National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Tsing Hua University and National Chiayi University, was supported by a number of organizations that also took part in the march, including Wild Bird Federation Taiwan, the Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan, the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan and the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Event organizers estimated that 4,000 people attended the rally.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
As of last year, the number of strays in Taiwan was nearly 160,000, said event spokesman Lee Tsung-chen (李宗宸), citing information from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Data from the ministry’s Endemic Species Research Institute showed that as of Oct. 14, the number of wild animals attacked by stray dogs or cats was three times the figure recorded 10 years ago, he added.
Philip Liao (廖朝盛) of the WildOne Wildlife Rescue Center in Taitung County’s Chihshang Township (池上) said statistics showed that an increasing number of Formosan serows and pangolins are being attacked by stray dogs and cats.
Supporting Team Social Enterprise chief executive Georny Liu (劉偉蘋) said that many people, out of kindness and love, like to feed the stray dogs and cats, but this not only can lead to poor health among the strays, but also creates problems relating to biosystems.
The government should take the matter seriously and map out measures to address it, the protesters said.
In response to such calls in the past, the ministry has designated certain “sensitive” zones where the feeding of strays is banned, leading to protests from some residents.
While supporting the policy, wildlife advocates said that more responsibility must be placed on people feeding strays, and greater cooperation with civil groups is needed.
They also called for transparency in the implementation of the policy.
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