A Facebook group has gathered nearly 2,000 members in less than a week to boycott tourism in Penghu County over a county policy that gives out cash to people who catch stray animals.
According to information released by the Penghu County Government's Agriculture and Fisheries Bureau, residents on the smaller islands in the county may be paid NT$400 for catching a dog that weighs more than 5kg, NT$200 for each dog under 5kg and NT$100 for each cat as wages for the labor.
The announcement quickly drew criticism from many.
“The worst part of the policy is that anyone can catch cats and dogs in exchange for cash. This kind of rewarding system is horrible,” Shen Yi-fan, creator of the Facebook group, said on its page.
Shen is an amateur photographer who takes pictures of cats around the country.
After being bombarded with criticism, the county government explained in a written statement that stray dogs pose a serious threat to residents as they may attack children in remote villages in the county.
“When such incidents happened in the past, residents would report them to the county government, and the county government would dispatch professional dog catchers to catch them,” the statement said. “However, since dog catchers often had to travel to the smaller islands by boat, the process was inefficient.”
“Hence, we are asking local residents to obtain cages from local township or village offices to catch harmful stray dogs, and then turn them in to the county government,” it said.
The statement added that money paid to residents who catch dogs are not meant to be rewards, but rather to compensate them for their labor.
However, Wu Shuang-tse (吳雙澤), who runs a homestay in the county, questioned whether stray dogs pose such a serious threat to locals.
“There may be one or two cases [of attacks by stray dogs] in a year or so, but it’s not really that big a problem. I think the county government is exaggerating the issue,” Wu said.
“Stray dogs and cats wander around villages, and villagers or tourists would give them food, so they seldom attack humans because the animals and humans are actually like partners — and this harmonious relationship has existed in Penghu for a long time,” Wu said.
Yen Chiang-lung (顏江龍), a resident of Penghu and co-Webmaster of an online forum to promote local tourism, said catching stray animals would not solve the problem.
“It may be a more effective measure to solve the problem if the county government spends the money to neuter the dogs rather then giving it to people who catch dogs,” he said.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS