The Animal Protection Law
Chinese people are used to eating all kinds of animals. In recent years, however, many have come to believe that eating animals such as dogs is cruel. The Hong Kong government has for years enforced a ban on eating dogs and cats, for example. The Taiwan government's plan to enact a similiar ban is compatible with international trends. How can anyone criticize such an effort as a violation of the Constitution? Many of our out-of-date eating habits should have been banned long ago. Stubbornly sticking to such practices only subjects Taiwan to international criticism.
Huahsi Street
After all, snakes and soft-shelled turtles are not pets and publicly slaughtering them may invoke criticism without the risk of international protests. However, dogs and cats are universally considered to be pets. If the government continues to allow people to eat them, the people of Taiwan will be criticized as barbaric and could face international protests and boycotts.
Gill nets
The law restricts the livelihood of many people, but no legal expert or legislator has ever stepped up to accuse the government of violating the Constitution because of it. Why? The legislative intent of the law was to "maintain social order and further public interest," which are goals consistent with the spirit of the Constitution and in no way violate the Constitution. If the law is enacted without violating the Constitution, amending the Animal Protection Law to ban the eating of dogs and cats naturally does not violate the Constitution.
"I can do whatever I like" is a commonly heard refrain from young people. Under such a slogan, some people turn man's best friend into a main dishe. The behavior can never be justified by the "freedom to eat." Taiwan is widely criticized for using harsh forms of execution to control the number of stray dogs. If we defend the eating of pets with our Constitution, we will become a joke in the international community. The strong protests against the abuse of bears should serve as a lesson for us.
Kuo Cheng-deng is a professor and principal investigator of the department of medical research and education at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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