Taipei's stray cats now have an association all their own which will look after their wellbeing in a metropolitan environment that can often be inhospitable.
Sara Choi, the founder of the association, told a press conference about the mistreatment she witnessed years ago that spurred her to form the group.
"I don't know how my neighbors had the heart to poison cats or get rid of kittens by tossing them off the 12th floor," the South Korean said.
PHOTO: ANGELICA OUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Choi, who first came to Taipei from South Korea as a student, soon began to take in strays she found at the market or in the streets close to her home.
She now works for an airline company and keeps 11 cats of her own in her 109m2 apartment.
"I realized that eventually my individual powers to make a difference would be limited and that is why we formed this association" Choi said.
"Our goal is to neuter 20 cats a month and adopt at least one," she said.
Choi says that Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) is a more humane and sensible approach to controlling the population of stray cats in the city than euthanasia.
"Human beings are the ones making the city dirty by littering. This brings in the rats, followed by the cats," Choi said.
She added that the association captures strays, neuters them and assesses whether they are suitable for adoption.
"Some cats are too wild and not suitable to be house pets, so we put them back out there after we've neutered them," she said.
"Every city needs a certain population of cats or we'll be overrun by rats," she said.
At the association's inaugural meeting yesterday, a number of cat owners who have chosen to adopt unwanted cats rather than buy them from a pet store showed off their beloved felines.
"We did not want to support the cat breeding industry in Taiwan, as many of its players do not operate in an ethical manner," said Chiu Yu-te (
The association has yet to come up with an English name.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source