Animal activists yesterday called on the Ministry of Justice to help push the cell dog program — in which inmates are taught to train stray dogs so that the dogs can be prepared for adoption — saying that the program has proven successful abroad and significantly lowers re-offending rates.
“In the cell dog program, inmates are taught to be professional dog trainers and teach stray dogs basic obedience,” Taiwan Cell Dogs Program founder Cathy Tai (戴昌儀) said.
Not only do the stray dogs get a second chance at life, since with the training they have a better chance of being adopted instead of being put down, Tai said, “Inmates in turn have love and compassion reintroduced into their lives, because, as most stray dogs have been abandoned or mistreated, the inmates have to exert extra patience and love to reach out to the dogs.”
PHOTO: CNA
Tai, a music teacher at Taipei’s Jinou Girls High school, said that she first learned about cell dogs three years ago from a TV program on Animal Planet, which featured 11 US prisons running the program.
“The cell dog program was invented by Sister Pauline Queens in 1981 and has been running in US prisons for more than two decades. Statistics show that they reduce recidivism by 60 percent,” Tai said.
In the cells, inmates involved in the program also demonstrate better behavior and less violence than those who aren’t, she said.
The program is now helping rehabilitate inmates in all 50 states of the US, Italy, the UK, Japan, Korea and many other countries, she said, adding. “In the US, some of the dogs have even been trained to be guide dogs.”
In Taiwan, volunteer veterinarians from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology began treating stray dogs three years ago. They then sent the dogs to Hsinchu City Jail for inmates to train, Tai said.
A total of 18 dogs have been adopted so far, Tai said, and hundreds of people are now on the prison’s waiting list for dogs.
“This is a social program that benefits society as a whole. In addition to the benefits to the strays and inmates, people can reap the benefits of improved public safety,” she said.
However, Tai said that currently Hsinchu is the only jail out of the nation’s 23 jails to have adopted the program, adding that it faces obstacles because “most prison wardens feel that it is extra work for them.”
As such, Tai called on the Ministry of Justice to back the program by making it eligible for part of the prison wardens’ annual job performance review, adding that it could also be a part of inmates’ parole evaluations.
“Meanwhile, my group of volunteers will continue to fundraise for the cause so that this program can carry on long-term,” she said.
To learn more about cell dogs, visit the program’s bilingual Web site at www.celldog.tw.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS