They're on the prowl at a handful of police stations, keeping pesky rodents in check. Thanks to the Los Angeles-based animal advocacy and rescue group, The Working Cats program of Voice for the Animals, feral cats that would have faced an almost certain death in shelters or on the streets now have a job.
The cats are in several police stations where rodents are a problem. The cats do not usually kill the rats and mice, but simply leave their scent, prompting the rodents to go elsewhere.
The animals' reputation grew after feral cats were introduced to the parking lot of the Wilshire Division nearly six years ago. The problem was so bad, mice were sometimes seen scampering across staffers' desks.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANIMALS TAIWAN
"Once we got the cats, problem solved," said Commander Kirk Albanese, a captain at the Wilshire station at the time. "I think it's a very humane way to deal with a very stubborn problem."
Feral cats cannot be turned into house pets, as they are unaccustomed to people and run away when approached. Voice for the Animals' board member Jane Garrison selected six feral cats for Southeast station. Garrison worked with two shelters to select the most feral cats. The cats were then desexed, vaccinated, microchipped and ear-tipped.
The cats were placed in large wire holding cages and housed in a shed for a month until they adapted to their new location.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANIMALS TAIWAN
At first, the cats spend much of their time out of sight. "They've got to play it safe and see if they're OK," said Southeast officer Sandra Magdaleno, who feeds and cares for the cats.(AP)
牠們在少數幾個警察局附近四處走動，嚇阻討厭的老鼠。這都要感謝洛杉磯的動物保護救援團體─動物之聲工作貓計劃，原本極可能死在收容所或街頭的野貓現在有工作了。
這些野貓進駐數間深受鼠患所苦的警局，牠們不用真的置鼠類於死地，因為單憑牠們的氣味就能將鼠類驅趕到別處了。
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANIMALS TAIWAN
牠們自從將近六年前被引介到威爾榭分局的停車場後變得聲名大噪，那裡的鼠患非常嚴重，有時候老鼠就大搖大擺地從員警的桌上跑過。
「這些貓來了之後，我們就沒有鼠患問題了，」當時擔任威爾榭分局隊長的分局長科克．阿爾巴尼斯說：「我認為我們用了一個非常人道的方法來解決這個難題。」
野貓無法被馴服成家貓，因為牠們不習慣親近人，一有人靠近就會逃跑。動物之聲委員會的珍．蓋瑞森和兩個收容所合力挑選了六隻最兇猛的野貓給東南警局，並幫牠們結紮、接種疫苗、植入晶片和剪耳朵。
這些貓被安置在一間房舍內的大型鐵絲網籠中一個月，目的是要讓牠們習慣這個新的地點。
一開始，這些貓大部份的時間都躲起來，東南警局負責餵食、照顧這些貓的警官珊卓．梅妲雷諾說：「牠們得先確定處境是否安全。」（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）
A: The 2025 World Masters Games will begin on May 17 and run until May 30. B: World Masters Games? A: It’s a quadrennial multi-sport event for people over 30, which will be jointly held by Taipei and New Taipei City. B: Cool, maybe we can go cheer for all the athletes from home and abroad. A: There will be an athletes’ parade in downtown Taipei prior to the opening ceremony on Saturday. Let’s go then. A: 2025雙北世界壯年運動會5月17日開幕，持續至5月30日閉幕。 B: 世壯運？ A: 這是四年一度、以30歲以上青壯年為主的運動會，本屆是由台北市和新北市共同舉辦。 B: 好酷喔，我們去幫來自國內外的選手們加油吧！ A: 週六在台北市區會有選手遊行，之後是開幕典禮，我們去看吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
A: Where will the 35 sports of the 2025 World Masters Games be held? B: Apart from Taipei and New Taipei City, some games will take place in Yilan County, Taoyuan County, and Hsinchu County and City. A: The news says about 25,000 people, including many celebrities and sports stars, have already registered for the games. B: Even Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, who is 47, registered for softball and squash. New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi, who is 68, also registered for table tennis. A: And it will be the largest sports event ever in Taiwan’s history. How exciting. A:
Computex, Asia’s biggest electronics conference, kicked off Monday in Taipei, and as in years past drew industry chieftains from Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang and Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon to Young Liu of Foxconn, which makes the bulk of the world’s iPhones and Nvidia servers. But while last year’s event was a celebration of the post-ChatGPT AI boom, executives this time are likely grappling with the uncertainty of the Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trade order — disrupting a decades-old model for tech manufacturing. This year’s exhibition will of course feature the hardware required to bring artificial intelligence to life.
Dog owners often wish they could understand their pets’ thoughts. “Dog buttons” might turn their dream into a reality. These specially designed buttons, __1__ sound chips, enable dogs to communicate their needs by pressing buttons corresponding to pre-recorded words like “walk,” “play,” “outside,” and “food.” This bridges the communication __2__ between humans and their canine companions. The science behind dog buttons is based on the concept of associative learning. It’s a process __3__ learners can link actions with outcomes. For instance, if an owner consistently presses the “walk” button and then takes their dog for a walk, the dog
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