The Council of Agriculture (COA) on Friday launched an online pet registration information system for pets that shows where they live and if they have been neutered.
The system — built on the Google Maps platform and connected to the Ministry of the Interior’s household registration system — shows the number and distribution of pets, COA Animal Protection second chief Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said.
About 1.89 million dogs are thought to have been adopted this year, but only 59 percent have been registered and, of those, only about 60 percent have been neutered, he said.
Increasing pet registration and neuter rates is essential to achieve better management of pets, the council said.
Since June, the council and the ministry have been integrating data and by the end of last month they recorded 1,127,001 pet entries and 610,000 household registrations, it said.
The council would compare pet registration data with the ministry’s household information monthly, which means if a pet owner moves, the system updates the address of their pet too, Chiang said.
Homes of pet owners who have not neutered their pets are to appear as red dots on the map, while those who have are shown as green dots, he said, adding that they plan to use the system to elevate registration and neutering rates of pets.
Using location data, local agencies can notify pet owners to neuter pets or apply for official approval for pet breeding, Chiang said, adding that people who do not comply face a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000 as stipulated in the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法).
Next year, the council aims to elevate pet neutering rates to 90 percent, the registration rate in the six special municipalities to 80 percent, and to 65 percent in other municipalities, he said.
The council’s pet registration system can be accessed at: www.pet.gov.tw.
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