More than 500 hog farmers who planned to stage a protest against the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) policy regarding the use of leftovers in feed have dropped their plan, after they came to an agreement with council officials on Thursday.
The Young Hog Farmers Alliance earlier this month said it would stage a protest in Taipei on Thursday next week to push the council to ban the use of leftovers in pig feed to prevent the transmission of African swine fever.
COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) previously said that the council was hesitant to impose such a ban, because it was concerned that the disposal of leftovers would become another problem, and its priority was to ensure that farmers disinfected leftovers as required.
Photo provided by Taoyuan City Government’s Animal Protection Office
Farmers are required to heat leftovers at 90°C for at least one hour, the council said.
STRICTER REGULATIONS
Facing increasing calls from domestic farmers and veterinary experts for a ban, the council on Sunday tightened regulations by announcing that only farms on the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) regulatory list could continue feeding pigs leftovers, as they follow stricter disinfection and pollution control standards.
Unregulated farms would have a week to switch to commercial fodder, acquire EPA approval for using leftovers or stop raising pigs, the council said, adding that about 1,155 farms would have to make adjustments.
After meeting with veterinary experts on Tuesday, Huang and other council officials met with hog farmers in Chiayi County on Thursday to gather more opinions.
Alliance members have seen the council’s efforts to improve quarantine measures against the disease and are willing to cancel the planned protest for the moment, alliance chairman Kuo Chia-yu (郭嘉育) said.
By planning for the protest, they raised public awareness about quarantine measures, Kuo said, adding that alliance members also agreed to give the government more time because of a Cabinet reshuffle.
Every Taiwanese should play their part in protecting the nation’s hog industry against the disease, alliance member Lin Ming-yan (林明彥) said.
The council added that it would inspect farms using leftovers more frequently and continue encouraging farmers to switch to commercial fodder.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS