About 30 groups have begun collecting signatures for a petition calling for tougher punishments for people who hurt or kill animals.
People who hurt animals are likely to need society’s help to get mentally back on track or they might move from huting animals to hurting children or vulnerable people, said Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), a member of the Association of Taiwan Tree-huggers.
The association is one of the groups that launched an online petition on April 1 aimed at collecting 300,000 signatures to back calls for lawmakers to amend the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) to increase the penalties.
People convicted of crippling or killing animals can be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million (US$3,090 and US$30,901).
The groups want a maximum sentence of two years in prison for offenders who did not own the animals involved — including people who kill animals for commercial purposes or for food — so that they cannot avoid jail time by simply paying a fine.
The groups are also seeking to have the fine imposed in conjunction with the jail term increased to between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million for non-owners and to between NT$300,000 to NT$3 million for people who kill animals for commercial purposes or for food.
Council of Agriculture data show that between 2011 and last year, defendants in 155 cases were found guilty of animal abuse, but many were sentenced to jail terms of three months or less and were able to pay fines to commute their sentences.
There is need for reform because some judges hand out light sentences on the grounds that offenses against animals are petty crimes and that prisons are already overcrowded, Pan said.
Reform is also needed to ensure that people who serve prison sentences do not become more violent afterwards, he added.
As of 9pm on Sunday, the petition drive had collected 62,674 signatures.
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