A march calling on Taiwanese society to safeguard wildlife and ecological sustainability by reining in stray animals is to be held in Taipei tomorrow, the Walk for Wildlife Alliance said yesterday.
The Walk for Wildlife Alliance is hoping to reduce the total number of stray dogs and cats, strengthen the management of stray dogs, particularly in ecological hotspots, and raise public awareness about wildlife conservation, Wu Yi-ta (吳奕達), the march’s general coordinator, told a news conference.
The government has invested more than NT$300 million (US$9.33 million) in managing and reducing stray animals to date, but data from the past few years show that the number of stray dogs continues to rise, with 159,697 recorded in 2022, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
“Stray cats also cause significant damage to the environment, yet there is no investigative data on them in Taiwan,” Wu added.
The increasing number of stray animals poses a significant threat to wildlife, especially endangered species in ecological hotspots, Wu said, adding that about 25 percent of leopard cats released into the wild eventually die due to dog attacks.
In terms of public awareness, alliance founder Lee Tsung-chen (李宗宸) said that domestic dogs and cats have been listed as invasive species in Taiwan since 2022, but none of the textbooks in Taiwan address their ecological impact.
“We hope that by including such examples in the school curriculum, members of society will understand the ecological damage that can result from abandoning dogs and cats,” he said.
Lee hoped this idea could be adopted to better educate the public and help prevent pet abandonment or the release of pets into the wild.
Following the march’s debut last year that drew about 4,000 people, Wu said that the alliance expects more people to join the event this year, as there is “growing public attention” on issues related to wildlife conservation.
He also hopes it would have more of an impact than the first march last year, which focused on the conflict between invasive species — primarily domestic dogs and cats — and wildlife.
The Ministry of Agriculture responded to that march by launching a three-month pilot project aimed at protecting leopard cats by relocating stray dogs from ecological hotspots, but the alliance said it had disappointing results.
Tomorrow’s march is to start at 1:30pm outside the Legislative Yuan, loop around nearby streets and return by 2:30pm.
It is to feature a conservation-themed market, and exhibitions and talks would be held throughout the afternoon, the organizer said.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture said it was already working to solve the issues called out by the alliance.
The key problem is the limited capacity of local governments to implement wildlife protection measures in biodiversity hotspots, Department of Animal Welfare Deputy Director Chen Chung-hsing (陳中興) said.
The ministry, which opposes feeding all animals in the wild, is working with local governments to promote feeding bans in these hotspots. However, since “biodiversity hotspot” is not a legal term, governments must impose fines on feeding based on the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), he said.
The ministry has also helped local governments increase space for stray dogs, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said.
“The issue must be tackled systematically, with efforts from multiple angles, and different organizations must reach a consensus to resolve the issue,” Lin said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by