Regulations concerning the care and use of animals in laboratory research in Taiwan are becoming stricter as the enforcement of measures establishing institutional animal care and use committees take effect today.
Officials at the National Science Council (NSC) said yesterday that institutions falling under the authority of the Animal Protection Law (
Officials of the National Laboratory Animal Breeding and Research Center under the science council said yesterday that a committee installed at every research institution would supervise animal-research-related affairs.
One of the requirements for establishing a committee includes the hiring of a veterinarian or an equivalent expert with a certificate issued by training centers recognized by the central government.
"Key committee personnel will be in charge of supervising procedures for self monitoring in obtaining, breeding, managing and using animals in laboratory research," said Liang San-chi (
Other important duties of committee members, Liang added, include ensuring appropriate maintenance of facilities where animals are used in laboratory research and adequate veterinary care.
"We believe that proper management of animals in laboratory research will minimize the negative consequences of animal testing," Liang said.
A workshop to train such professionals will be held by the center for the very first time today. Some 150 experts from different research institutions are expectedly to receive the certification. The center will hold another workshop in November this year. Liang said that more than 300 experts will be qualified to serve as committee members within a year.
According to the Council of Agriculture, however, there are more than 500 institutions in need of such experts, such as research centers, hospitals, universities, biotech firms, pharmaceutical companies.
After next July, any institution lacking a committee will be fined between NT$20,000 and NT$100,000.
Animal welfare activists told the Taipei Times yesterday that they welcomed new measures which ensure the rights of animals.
"But we have reservations about the integrity of appointed committee members because they will be on the payroll of the institutions they supervise," said Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) of the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan.
"Waiving unnecessary animal experiments should have become the researchers' main concern," Chen said. She added that animal welfare activists can look forward to seeing committee members with diverse backgrounds, such as animal behavior, animal protection and psychology.
The budget for biotech research in Taiwan next fiscal year has been increased to NT$17 billion from NT$11.7 billion. Biotech is a priority of the government's business promotion activities.
"It [the increased budget] doesn't necessarily mean that Taiwan will need more animals for scientific research," NSC Chairman Wei Che-ho (魏哲和) said yesterday.
Wei said that the measures taking effect today would improve the image of Taiwan in the international community.
According to the NSC, Taiwan will do its best to become a leader in biotech research next year by spending NT$4 billion on planned national projects.
Science council chairman Wei and Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) will head for Japan today to visit several biotech research centers including Tokyo University and the Tsukuba Science Park.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS