Thirty-nine dogs have died in Chiayi County since Monday, allegedly due to heat exhaustion, after 70 dogs and a cat were loaded into a vehicle designed to carry just 20 animals, leading to the head of a local animal agency and other personnel being demoted.
A Chiayi Livestock Disease Control Center veterinarian transported the animals to a local private shelter on Monday, but 26 dogs — 13 adults and 13 puppies — were dead on arrival at the shelter, despite resuscitation efforts.
The death toll rose to 39 yesterday, with the dead animals being cremated following a religious ceremony.
Originally kept at a public shelter and facing euthanasia, the animals were to be admitted to the private shelter.
Videos and photographs of veterinarians and shelter workers trying to resuscitate dogs that lay motionless at the shelter went viral on the Internet, sparking public outrage at the center’s apparent negligence.
“Today is the saddest day since the shelter’s establishment. A car carrying dogs to be euthanized arrived at the shelter, but a volunteer was shocked by what he saw when he opened the trunk: Cages in the car were overcrowded with dogs. Some were already dead and those still alive were dying,” Hsu Wen-liang (徐文良), a shelter worker and brother of the shelter’s owner, wrote on Facebook.
“The shelter only agreed to take in 15 adult dogs and several sick puppies, but the center sent 70 dogs and a cat without informing the shelter. Who gave the order?” Hsu wrote.
The center on Monday apologized over the incident, saying a glitch with the vehicle’s air conditioning and hot weather caused temperatures inside the vehicle to rise too high, resulting in the death of the animals.
However, Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) visited the center and inspected the vehicle. She found that the car’s air conditioning was functioning properly and therefore attributed the incident to the center’s crowding of animals into a small, poorly ventilated space, adding that the animals should have been transported separately instead of in a single trip.
Chang said the county government would establish a standard operating procedure for animal transportation to protect animal welfare, while center director Wong Yo-chu (翁有助) and the veterinarian driving the vehicle have been demoted.
Shelter owner Hsu Wen-hui (徐雯慧) said that, despite the demotions, problems would still exist if the center continues with its present method of operation, adding that allowing animal rights campaigners to be involved with the center and public shelters would improve operations.
SEE CAMBODIAN ON PAGE 6
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old