The Holiday Inn hotel chain may be slapped with a hefty fine for violation of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) after Chinese chef Zhang Xiao-chun (張小春) plucked and boiled a live chicken during a cooking demonstration at the Holiday Inn East Taipei earlier this month, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The council said the Taipei County Government was responsible for enforcing the law, which stipulates a maximum fine of NT$500,000 for violators.
The Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan, the nation's leading animal rights advocate group, said Zhang's action not only broke the law, but also provided a bad example for the public.
Hsu Kuai-sheng (許桂森), chief of the council's husbandry section, said the purpose of the law was to protect animal rights, not penalize violators.
Zhang's blunder could be the result of his lack of understanding of Taiwanese laws, especially as “in China, they still eat cats and dogs,” Hsu said.
Hsu said the central government's role was to enact the law, but added that it was up to the local government to enforce it.
In related news, two COA staffers killed in the line of duty, Chen Han-yuan (陳漢源) and Liu Chin-ying (劉金瑛), were enshrined yesterday in the Shoushan Martyrs' Shrine in Kaohsiung for their sacrifice during Typhoon Morakot rescue efforts.
The two lost their lives when they refused to leave Siaolin Village (小林村), which was eventually destroyed during the typhoon by mudslides and torrential rain.
Taitung police officers Chiang Wen-hsiang (江文祥) and Hsu Jin-tsu (?? were also enshrined at Taitung's Martyrs’ Shrine yesterday. Both officers lost their lives while helping residents evacuate from the Taimali River during last August’s flooding. The pair were washed away by the river and their bodies were never found.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
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