A legislative report called for a review of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) amid a boom in the popularity of claw crane machines, some of which offer live animals as prizes.
A report by the Legislative Yuan’s Organic Laws and Statutes Bureau last week said local media reported that some businesses were using claw crane machines that operated on the edge of the law.
They are accused of offering live animals, such as lobsters and mud crabs, as prizes and putting up signs saying that “clawing invertebrates is not against the law.”
Although invertebrates are not covered by the act, the report said that caging live animals, and using a claw to lift and then drop them, shows no respect for living creatures or animal protection.
Studies by the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan have showed that cephalopods, an animal group that includes octopuses and crustaceans, have pain receptors, the report said.
That is why the bureau believes there is a need to amend the act in the interests of animal protection, the report said.
The report was issued at a time of unprecedented popularity of claw crane machines.
Taiwan had 6,409 stores registered to offer the machines for use as of the end of May, compared with 2,859 at the end of last year, Ministry of Finance statistics showed.
The report also said that about 90 percent of prizes from the machines, usually plush toys, did not meet labeling standards.
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