The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday proposed imposing heavier penalties for animal smuggling after the agency on Saturday euthanized 154 valuable cats illegally imported from China on a Taiwanese fishing boat on Friday.
The killing of the smuggled cats, which occurred on the same day as International Homeless Animals Day, sparked an outcry.
COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) yesterday at a news conference in Taipei defended the council’s decision, saying that the agency had no choice but to put down the animals.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
“Even after quarantine, these cats could still carry ... diseases due to the long latency periods of viruses, which could pose a major threat to pets and farm animals in Taiwan,” Chen said.
He said that many animal lovers might find the council’s decision hard to accept, but the veterinarians who were ordered to put down the cats were the saddest of all.
Council officials were also torn between reason and emotion, he added.
“As one who is responsible for animal and plant quarantine affairs, I made the final decision ... because it simply had to be done. If there are criticisms about the way the council handled this matter, let them be directed at me rather than ground-level workers at the council,” Chen said.
These cats were smuggled from China, a high-risk nation for rabies, Chen said, adding that the fatality rate for people who are bitten by an animal with rabies is 100 percent once the infection has taken hold.
To curb animal smuggling, Chen said that the council would work with the Ministry of Justice to amend the Smuggling Penalty Act (懲治走私條例) to allow prison sentences for animal smugglers of more than seven years, which is currently the maximum sentence.
The council would also amend the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), which imposes a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$3 million (US$3,570 to US$107,112) on unlicensed animal vendors or those selling animals from unknown sources.
Once the act is amended, the starting fine would be NT$3 million, he said.
The boat that helped smuggle cats into Taiwan has been permanently banned from conducting fishing business, Chen said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) condemned smugglers on Facebook, saying that she supported the council’s decision to amend the laws, to ensure that smuggled animals are treated more humanely.
In related news, the COA’s African Swine Fever Disaster Response Center yesterday reported the first case of African swine fever found in smuggled meat products.
The virus was discovered in a 71.79kg shipment of meat imported from Vietnam by a local distributor using a courier service, it said.
The center is investigating whether any infected meat has made its way into local markets, and would destroy it if found, it said.
Pork accounted for 60.28kg of the smuggled shipment, chicken products made up 5.81kg and beef products 5.7kg, Chen said.
The shipment also included a 15.74kg parcel of onions, he said, adding that the entire shipment was destroyed.
“This was the first time in the three years since an African swine fever outbreak occurred in the region that we have intercepted a smuggled shipment containing traces of the virus,” he said.
As this was not the first shipment of processed meat products from Vietnam to be smuggled into Taiwan, officials were tracing the source of all products sold in markets and testing those currently on shelves, he said.
Meanwhile, the Customs Administration said it has confiscated more than 200kg of meat products over the past two weeks, mostly comprised of mooncakes with meat filling and sausages.
Additional reporting by CNA
INCREASED RISK: The Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant has higher immune evasive capacity, but the CECC is more concerned about newer subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1 With the peak season for infectious respiratory diseases coming to an end, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that details of the next phase of lifting COVID-19 masking rules — removing the mask requirement in most indoor settings — are to be announced this week. Discussions on lifting other COVID-19 restrictions are also being held, including further easing border control measures, home isolation requirements and revising the definition for reporting cases, while also downgrading COVID-19 to a lower category of notifiable communicable disease, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC. As the daily
GUT FEELING: In the leaked memo, US Air Force General Mike Minihan urged mobile command personnel to go to a firing range, shoot at a target and ‘aim for the head’ A four-star US Air Force general has warned of a conflict with China as early as 2025 — most likely over Taiwan — and urged his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year. In an internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command Commander General Mike Minihan said that the main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China. “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” Minihan said. Minihan said that Taiwan’s presidential election
PEACE AND STABILITY: The two nations called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Taiwan Strait issues through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked France and Australia for voicing their support for Taiwan, saying that peace across the Taiwan Strait is crucial to the stability and prosperity of international society. France and Australia on Monday pledged to deepen ties with Taiwan and reiterated their support for its participation in international organizations at this year’s Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations in Paris. The meeting between French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles was the second
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM: Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said his nation stands firmly on the side of democracy and would boost cooperation with Taipei in all aspects Czech president-elect Petr Pavel spoke by telephone with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei. Tsai spoke with Pavel for 15 minutes in a harmonious atmosphere, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was also present during the conversation. Lin quoted Pavel as telling Tsai that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, adding that the Czech Republic stands firmly on the side of democracy and supports Taiwan in maintaining a lively democratic system free from authoritarian coercion. The Czech Republic would
RSS