The Taichung District Court on Friday convicted a man of killing three dogs with poison in a breach of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), sentencing him to three months in prison and fining him NT$100,000.
The court found the man, surnamed Hung (洪), guilty of “killing, deliberately hurting or causing injury to an animal” in violation of Article 25 of the act.
The prison term is commutable to a fine of NT$1,000 per day.
Police and officials from the Taichung City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office in September 2016 opened an investigation after a dog owner, surnamed Huang (黃), filed a report with local authorities.
After examining surveillance footage, police zeroed in on Hung and, when questioned, he admitted to poisoning the dogs.
Hung was quoted as saying that he was angry that his vegetable garden was repeatedly invaded and trampled by strays.
Hung put terbufos, a highly toxic insecticide, inside cooked sausages and placed them near the vegetable garden, police said, adding that his neighbor’s dogs accidentally became victims of the poison.
Huang told police that he was walking his three dogs when they found the sausages and ate them. After returning home, all three began foaming at the mouth and he rushed them to an animal hospital. Only one was saved.
While Huang was reporting his case, another man also came to report that his dog had eaten something and died, police said.
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