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Cruelty to animals hurts everyone

`Such a legal environment amply proves that animals are seen as objects, with no more rights than things or capital. That is the reason why abusing or killing an animal at most constitutes the destruction of goods, and is only considered an offense if the animal's owner reports the case.'

After donating NT$15 billion (US$460 million) to National Taiwan University for cancer research, Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) recently donated another NT$200 million to solve the problem of stray dogs by implanting chips in the animals and neutering them.

Gou is happy to make large donations. This clearly makes people deeply grateful to the tycoon.

But although there is no doubt that Gou's support for noble causes is admirable, it should not be an excuse for the government to take its responsibilities any less seriously.

In the early morning of Aug. 16, a cruel case of dog abuse occurred in Sinjhuang (新莊), Taipei County. A small black dog had been skinned alive after someone cut its skin open from neck to tail.

Its flesh dripping with blood, the little dog was then dumped in the middle of the road in a traditional market.

"Skinned little Blackie," as it was called, was moaning and moving about, and struggled for its life, but died in agony two hours later. When it died, the doubt and terror it felt could be seen in its eyes.

What kind of person could torture a little dog to death? The death of "skinned little Blackie" greatly upset animal protection groups. They jointly filed a lawsuit at the Banciao District Prosecutor's Office.

I don't know how the court case is going, but the result is predictable. It will be just like the case of the man who abused kittens and put photos of it online. Animal protection groups despair at the indifference of the law, and in this case, as in other cases, they can expect to gain nothing.

Although the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) stipulates that: "An animal shall not be abandoned," "No one is allowed to harass, maltreat or hurt an animal out of malice or without reason," and "No one shall be allowed to kill an animal at will," the punishment for violating these rules are merely fines, and there is no criminal liability.

Worse, there is no agency responsible for the enforcement of this law.

The police already have many difficult tasks to deal with and don't have the necessary skills to take on the enforcement of this law. It can hardly be expected to make the protection of animals its highest priority. Hence, the rules laid down in the Animal Protection Act are only ink on paper and hardly have a deterrent effect.

Such a legal environment amply proves that animals are seen as objects, with no more rights than things or capital. That is the reason why abusing or killing an animal at most constitutes the destruction of goods, and is only considered an offense if the animal's owner reports the case.

There is no practical basis for bystanders to act when they witness abuse. And for stray animals that are abused or killed, it's like there is no law or government in the world.

In the news, we see reports of dogs with large open wounds because they were tied with rubber bands; cats shot with a crossbow; and birds shot at with steel balls. The images of these animals' suffering elicit a strong j'accuse against these barbaric acts.

The public needs to take a good look at its system of values.

Cruelty is an offense in and of itself. If we get used to cruelty and turn a blind eye to it, this is not only an example of the nature of individuals becoming more grim, it represents the degeneration of society as a whole. Perhaps there are others who feel the same way as I do.

Many cases have come to light recently of abused children, and one can't help crying when hearing about how the little bodies of children suffer merciless cruelties at the hand of the world of grown-ups.

But Taiwan seemingly is becoming more and more indifferent to these incidents as they become more common. Humanity, morality and values are deteriorating rapidly.

Virtually every state of the US considers abuse of animals a felony. The UK and Australia have similar rules. This is because these countries understand that laws against cruelty are not just aimed at protecting animals: Their real objective is protecting humanity.

Democratic Progressive Party legislators Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) have separately proposed amendments to the Animal Protection Act.

The proposals include increasing the fine for violating the act to serving time in prison; stipulating that the government should set up a police force with the primary task of enforcing this law; and increasing surveillance of the breeding and trading of animals.

The amendments would also authorize public welfare organizations to step in when governmental institutions in charge of enforcing the law are not carrying out their duties, and authorizes such organizations to file lawsuits against offenders at the Administrative Court.

We'll have to wait and see whether these proposed amendments can pass the legislature.

People need to have a serious debate on this issue and develop a consensus. But the most important thing is that the government should understand it cannot pass off its responsibility for the nation's well-being to Terry Gou.

In today's Taiwan, we must depend on the Animal Protection Act to improve humanity. The care of animals has been ignored for too long.

Chang Sheng-hsin is a judge in the Taichung District Court.

Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
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