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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS