Mrs Hsu’s orchard in Lishan, Taichung, mainly produces premium-priced fruit such as honey peaches, honey apples and snow pears. The Animal Protection Office arranges group buys from her, and when the office happened to find out that Hsu was having difficulties, it suggested she take on guard dogs for the orchard, in what became the first example of New Taipei City trained strays being used as orchard guard dogs outside the area.
According to Hsu, macaques band together and roam around, and often there will be 10 or so stealing fruit, and this will sometimes even attract boars, who will come and destroy the orchard. The valuable produce often gets ruined at the hands of this group of uninvited guests.
In order to drive the monkeys out, Hsu has tried patrols and even firecrackers as a deterrent, but all to no avail, leaving her angry and at a loss as to what to do.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Animal Protection Office
照片：動保處提供
After she introduced 10 guard dogs into the orchard, however, every time the monkeys wanted to make a raid, the dogs, territorial by nature, reacted subconsciously and chased after them, barking, and the monkeys, scared, fled.
Since March, New Taipei City has been promoting a zero euthanasia policy, implementing various pet adoption channels, including training sentry dogs and guard dogs, and opening up the nine animal shelters throughout the city for members of the public who need them to go and adopt them.
(Liberty Times, Translated By Paul Cooper)
許媽媽在台中梨山的果園主要栽種水蜜桃、蜜蘋果、雪梨等高經濟價值水果，動保處人員曾向她團購，無意間得知許媽媽的困擾，主動提議認養果園守護犬，也成為新北市訓練流浪犬做為農園守護犬後，媒合外縣市首例。
許媽媽表示，獼猴成群出沒，常常十幾隻結伴偷果，甚至引來山豬一起破壞果園，高經濟作物常因這群不速之客遭殃。
為了趕猴群，許媽媽嘗試駐點巡邏，甚至用鞭炮嚇阻，卻徒勞無功，讓許媽媽既生氣又無奈。
十隻守護犬進駐果園後，每次猴群想要突襲，狗狗因為守護地盤的天性，下意識追上去狂吠，猴群驚嚇逃竄。
新北市自三月起推動零安樂政策，實施多元認養管道，包括訓練崗哨犬、守護犬等，開放讓有需求的民眾至全市九處動物之家認養。
(自由時報記者陳韋宗)
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