An international class-action suit stemming from the deaths of thousands of dogs in Asian countries, including Taiwan, was filed against Pedigree, a US maker of dog food, in US Federal Court in early May, the Care for Animals and Protect the Earth Organization (
Shen Jung-chen (沈蓉震), founder of the association, said that a correlation between certain questionable batches of Pedigree dog food manufactured in Thailand and numerous cases of kidney failure among dogs in Taiwan early this year had been indirectly confirmed.
At a press conference, Shen said that component analysis of questionable Pedigree dog food done by experts for the Council of Agriculture in March showed that certain toxic chemicals existed.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
arsenic
"From the governmental report, we see not only toxins but also heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and others," Shen said.
Shen said that US-based Mars, which sells numerous pet food products including Pedigree, had failed to control the quality of its products manufactured in Thailand. Questionable Pedigree products processed from raw materials that were already moldy and unhealthy were sold in several Asian countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan, causing kidney failure in dogs, he said.
In Taiwan, it is estimated that at least 100,000 dogs were affected. As of Tuesday, the council's records showed that the number of dog owners receiving compensation from Effem Foods Taiwan (
lack of sympathy
Several dog owners who are refusing compensation from Effem said at the press conference that the lives of their lost pets, which they regarded as family members, can not be assigned a monetary value. They said that the lawsuit is meant to expose the pet food supplier's lack of sympathy.
"The representatives from Effem showed us no sympathy," he said.
They even set an upper limit on the compensation and were reluctant to apologize for the incident," said Liou Yu-feng (劉玉峰), who lost two dogs that ate Pedigree dry food.
Liou, a journalist working for the Liberty Times [the Taipei Times' sister newspaper], said that he and his wife had suffered from insomnia since their nine-year-old dog Du Du died in January.
too much water
Liou said the council did not investigate the dog's death until March, delaying the delivery of warnings about the questionable pet food.
Liou's other dog, Happy -- a 12-year-old weighing 28kg and capable of jumping 2.2m in the air when healthy -- died of kidney failure in April.
Yang Ru-chien (楊儒乾) yesterday showed the media his 14kg pet dog, Hsiao Hay -- recovering from kidney failure -- saying that he had stopped feeding the dog Pedigree when it began drinking abnormal amounts of water.
Hsiao Hay's health began to improve with treatment.
According to the dog owners' legal advisor, Paul Maas Risenhoover, victims from Asian countries plan to demand compensation of US$20 billion.
Risenhoover aims to demand at least US$100,000 for each wrongful dog death.
Council officials said that the government would assist those seeking compensation by helping to secure their dogs' medical records.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
RSS