Legislators and activists yesterday unveiled a proposal to create an Animal Protection Bureau under the Council of Agriculture (COA).
The drafters of the proposal — which has been signed by 20 legislators — said the bureau would consolidate the efforts of different government agencies and address concerns expressed by animal rights activists about temporary animal shelters.
Speaking to dozens of activists led by Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) of the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) outside the Executive Yuan, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-Hua (李慶華) said: “We must work together to immediately stop this kind of atrocious behavior.”
Lee was referring to allegations of abuse of stray animals at animal shelters.
Chen said Lee agreed to draft the proposal after being shown a documentary filmed by her group last month.
The documentary showed cats and dogs being denied water, food and basic healthcare at animal shelters.
The group said temporary shelters that are not subject to regulation by local authorities and fall into a gray area not clearly defined under the Animal Protection Law (動物保護法) are becoming more common as permanent shelters become overfull.
They called for authorities to close all temporary animal shelters and expand and improve permanent ones.
The group said its conclusions were based on evidence gathered during a three-year nationwide investigation of such facilities.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) likened the shelters to “concentration camps.”
In reference to the 17 local governments that use cleaning teams to catch stray animals, she said “it is wrong to treat our beloved pets as waste.”
EAST estimates that 900,000 stray pets have been picked up by local authorities in the past 10 years. Around 133,000 were picked up last year alone, of which 96,400 were killed.
The proposal said that by consolidating efforts and raising their status, Taiwan can ensure that its animal welfare does not lag behind other industrialized countries.
The duties of the proposed bureau would include managing the pet and pet food industries and implementing animal protection policies.
The legislators did not comment on when the proposal could become law.
Minister without Portfolio Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源) said that in the meantime “the government will work fast to make changes to the system.”
He said the government would prioritize the matter and work with local animal control authorities to improve permanent shelters and close temporary ones.
He said the central government would sit down with city mayors and county commissioners after next month’s local elections to discuss tackling the problem.
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