Half of Taiwan’s cities and counties lack rescue services for animals that are not cats or dogs, animal rights groups said yesterday, urging the Ministry of Agriculture to allocate more funding to local governments’ animal welfare programs.
The groups, including the Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network, Taiwan Bird Rescue Association, Taiwan Rodents Care Association and Taiwan Hedgehog Care Association, spent a year researching the ability of public animal shelters nationwide to rescue and shelter pet birds, rodents and hedgehogs.
The research showed that most city and county animal shelters provide services for cats and dogs as required by the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), while the other animals, without regulatory protection, could only be helped by non-governmental organizations, Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network secretary-general Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) told a news conference.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The lives and welfare of other animals should be valued and protected as well, he said, adding that the Taiwan Bird Rescue Association received 1,937 cases and the Taiwan Rodents Care Association got 2,005 cases from 2021 to last year.
Among all local animal rights authorities, only half would rescue pets that are not cats or dogs, and only 45 percent could shelter those that were abandoned or mistreated, Ho said.
New Taipei City performed the best among the six major special municipalities in rescuing and sheltering other types of pets, while the Taichung Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office completely lacked such services, Ho said.
Tainan’s and Kaohsiung’s animal rights agencies also provide services for pet birds and pigeons, but not other types of pets, he said.
Among the other cities and counties, Hsinchu City performed best, followed by Miaoli County and Chiayi City, Ho said, adding they even outperformed some of the six major cities.
The research showed that the shelter capacities of local agencies were insufficient and proper standards and guidelines should be established to enhance their capabilities to take in other animals, he said.
The ministry is advised to fund collaborations between governmental and non-governmental sectors, as well as compile owner guidelines for non-cat-or-dog pets.
Department of Animal Welfare official Cheng Chu-ching (鄭祝菁) said that the ministry would fully support local authorities by allocating higher budgets where needed.
While guidelines on keeping mammals that are not cats or dogs such as rodents and rabbits were published on Tuesday, interactive software and videos about owner guidelines would also be made to educate the public, she said.
Cheng also thanked the groups for collaborating with the government in animal rights protection, saying that the collaborations would be expanded to provide complete services.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS