The battle between cats and dogs has long been one of Hollywood’s favorite themes, and although a winner has never been formally declared, felines seem to be gaining the upper hand in Taiwan.
Fei Chang-yong (費昌勇), a professor at National Taiwan University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, said cats are the most popular house pets in the country. Since 1999, however, the number of pet dogs has decreased by 22 percent from 1.63 million to 1.27 million last year.
In the same period, the figure for cats has climbed 44 percent, from 195,000 to 281,000.
Animal experts say cats’ “independence” is their biggest selling point for people, especially animal-loving urban dwellers.
“Cats don’t take up too much space and they don’t need to be walked; they are perfect for busy city people,” Fei said, adding that the same trend could be seen in other metropolises such as New York and London.
Dog lovers, however, are not yet ready to throw in the towel because although the number of pet dogs is declining, many of them now live in royal fashion — a dramatic improvement over the dog kennels and leases they lived with in the past. Dog owners, Fei said, are known to spend up to NT$80,000 for a carrier or styling their furry kids in haute couture clothing.
On the other hand, most cat owners are more casual about their cats’ lifestyle, he said.
While pet owners get catty over their pooches and pussies, animal rights groups say that both kinds of animals should be chipped.
In Fei’s study, he found that although cats beat out dogs in the popularity contest, the number of feral cats was also on the increase.
Last year, the stray dog population totaled 84,000, while there were an estimated 122,000 stray cats running around the country, up 44 percent from 11 years ago.
The figure has prompted animal rights groups, such as the Taipei City Stray Cats Association, to urge the government to enforce the same mandatory chip implant requirement in cats that it has for dogs.
The Council of Agriculture said that unlike stray dogs, street cats rarely attack people. Currently, local governments are authorized to decide how to deal with feral felines.
Compared with dogs, Fei said cats have a better chance of survival on the streets because even without a stable food source, cats can feed on rats and birds.
Kittens born in the wild also have a lower mortality rate than their canine counterparts.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS