Animal protection groups yesterday called on legislators to enact stricter regulations on animal reproduction centers, claiming that current regulations were "loose" and had failed to prevent breeders from abusing animals.
Early this month in Pingtung County, a dog breeding operation was discovered in which more than 100 dogs had been left in a locked house with no food or water.
Many dead dogs were also found at the premises, and were presumed to have been bitten to death by other dogs in the house.
Rescue operation
"People living near the reproduction center told us that many dead bodies were carried away before we got there [by the owners?]. I don't know exactly how many dogs died there," said Ker Tzu-hsiu (
Ker was one of the volunteers who went to the house to clean it and take canine survivors to vets after reports about the breeding operation broke on June 5.
Evidence
Ker showed several pictures taken at the facility.
"Look at this plastic bag," she said, pointing to one picture.
"I presume that inside the bag were the dead bodies of dogs as [I could see] the nails of a dog here [through the plastic bag]. And this, this dead golden retriever's nose, mouth and the soles of its feet were all gone," Ker said at a public hearing yesterday.
The public hearing was hosted by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Tien Chiu-chin (
President of the Taipei Pet Commerce Association Chen Ming-chih (陳明進) said that the Pingtung case was just a single event.
"I believe that most our members would like to be governed [by new laws] if the ... [they] are reasonable," Chen said.
New rules
However, representatives of animal protection groups didn't agree with Chen's interpretation.
Chu Tseng-hong (朱增宏), president of Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, said similar cases were discovered from time to time.
"People who are found abusing animals or illegally running an animal reproduction business will be fined just NT$150,000 [US$4,600] at most. It's actually `nothing' to them," Chu said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
RSS