The adoption of stray animals should be included in evaluations of school performance, animal rights advocates said yesterday, announcing the results of a national survey of school adoptions.
“When the Ministry of Education evaluates a school’s ‘life education,’ one of the measures it should include is whether they have adopted a stray animal,” Animal Protection Administration Oversight Committee board member Wang Wei-chi (王唯治) told a press conference in Taipei.
“You can not just say there are exams on related material, you need to show cases demonstrating that your ‘life education’ is a success,” Wang said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In addition to adopting stray animals, schools could also be evaluated based on how many students were involved in caring for the animal and reports on what they had learned, he said.
Wang added that schools were the key to increasing animal adoption rates. By familiarizing students with the needs of adopted animals and also increasing parents confidence that their children could be responsible for an animal’s care, more animals might be adopted.
He said that more than 90,000 stray animals were caught last year nationally, with many animals euthanized if they are not adopted within 15 days.
Life Conservationist Association executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said that with the euthanasia of animals scheduled to be banned in two years, the group has been working to promote animal adoption, focusing on neighborhoods as well as the nation’s 3,885 elementary and secondary schools.
A survey conducted by the group showed that about 6 percent of the nation’s schools have adopted a cat or a dog, with 12 percent of high schools and middle schools raising a pet, compared with only 3 percent of elementary schools.
Keelung had the highest adoption rate of 18.2 percent, while Taipei had the lowest at 3.5 percent.
Ministry of Education offical Chiu Jen-chieh (邱仁杰) said the ministry had already passed regulations regarding animals being adopted by schools and includes animal protection information in the school curriculum.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS