The Cabinet yesterday unveiled draft revisions to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) that would tighten regulations on when owners can place their pets in shelters, while increasing the maximum fine for abandoning animals.
Among the draft provisions is one that says pet owners can place animals in certified shelters only after meeting “certain conditions” to relinquish ownership, with unauthorized placement classified as abandonment.
The conditions would be defined by the Ministry of Agriculture in supplementary rules if the legislature approves the amendment.
Photo: CNA
In addition, the draft amendments say that if an animal shelter asks an owner to reclaim an animal, the owner must do so within seven days or be deemed to have abandoned it.
The maximum fine for abandonment would be increased to NT$100,000 to NT$1 million (US$3,168 to US$31,676) — up from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
Pet owners who lose a microchipped animal have five days to report the incident to local authorities, after which they are also deemed to have abandoned the animal, they say.
Other draft revisions would more clearly define when a pet can be euthanized while in a shelter, replacing “sick beyond cure” among conditions for when an animal can be put down with “in a physical condition in which it cannot eat, drink or excrete unaided.”
Department of Animal Welfare Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) told a Cabinet news conference that the changes to the rules regarding euthanasia would reduce ambiguity in decisionmaking for veterinarians on when to put an animal down.
Other scenarios that would justify euthanasia are: animals with legally notifiable infectious diseases; animals with incurable serious illnesses; animals that are seriously affecting the environment; and other emergency situations, Chiang said.
Meanwhile, the sterilization system for cats and dogs still has blind spots that the draft changes aim to fix, he said.
Fines for disabling an animal or killing a dog, cat or other animals specified by the ministry would be increased to between NT$300,000 and NT$3 million from NT$200,000 and NT$2 million, while the range of the jail term for such acts would rise to six months to five years, up from a maximum of two years, the proposed amendments say.
In severe cases of animal killings, such as those involving firearms, drugs, violence or torture, the prison terms would be increased by a factor of 1.5, they say.
Pet owners must be adults, they say, adding that in situations in which a minor is the primary caregiver, their legal representatives, conservators or care provider would be deemed the owner.
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