Holding yellow chrysanthemums in their hands, more than 200 pet lovers and animal welfare activists yesterday gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to express their disappointment and anger over the “intended distortion” by several breeding farms of a recently amended law on dog breeding management.
Huang Tai-shan (黃泰山), the initiator of the demonstration called “Why was I born if you want me to die?” and the founder of the Taiwan People’s Association for Cats and Dogs, said the groups were grateful that legislators had passed an amendment to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) in January, stipulating that all dog births must be declared.
The law was amended to gain control over the excessive breeding of dogs at farms that often led to abandonment and more stray dogs in the streets, he said.
Photo: Animal Rescue Team Taiwan
However, many breeding farms have skewed the amended articles, so has to imply that “neutering is compulsory for pet dogs.”
The activists said that the intention of the amendment was to reduce the number of stray dogs, which are often abandoned pets and their litters.
The amendment stipulates that all births must be reported and that local governments must provide free neutering services.
However, several breeding farms have argued that dogs have a right to reproduction and want the amended articles removed from the law.
“The breeding farms are selfish to be against a law that manages reproduction from its origins, for their own interests,” Huang added.
Many demonstrators held photographs of mistreated dogs in breeding farms and animal shelters, and signs which read: “Pets are not merchandise, there is only true love through neutering” or “Breeding farms, please don’t force us to breed.”
The demonstrators also put a box full of ash from deceased stray dogs on the street and placed yellow chrysanthemum around it, symbolizing their mourning for the dogs that died as a result of over-reproduction and abandonment by the breeding farms.
They said many breeding farms only cared about profits and not the dogs’ rights.
Many breeding farms cut the vocal cords of breeding female dogs and force them to reproduce at an unhealthy frequency, leading to genetic diseases in puppies, the activists said.
Huang urged the government to conduct strict examinations of the illegal breeders to prevent dogs being abandoned or having to be put down in shelters.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS