Taipei City's Animal Sanitation Quarantine Office (
Pudu, held to honor those dearly departed, is a common ritual during the seventh lunar month -- traditionally regarded as Ghost Month by Buddhist and Taoist believers.
This is the third straight year in which the city government has held such a ceremony. With the altar set before the dead-animal monument at Taipei City Animals' House (
Also in attendance were officials from the city's Bureau of Environmental Protection and professionals from the Taipei Veterinarian Association as well as several pet shop owners and representatives from animal-protection groups.
"The purpose of the Pudu ceremony is to mourn all the city's animals that had died during this past year due to causes such as accidents, sickness, vivisection or euthanasia," Ma said.
"The ceremony is also a way to show our respect for all forms of life," he added.
According to Lin Chin-chung (
"We respect life," Lin said. "But due to the period for the detention of animals stipulated by the Animal Protection Law [
The Animal Protection Law requires captured stray dogs to be looked after for seven days at animal shelters; if the dogs have not been adopted within seven days, they are euthanized.
"If space allows, we usually keep them longer with us in hope that a potential owner will come and adopt a stray dog," Lin said.
Lin added that strays have become less of a problem in Taipei in recent years.
Two years ago the stray population was estimated at 18,000 and last year it was about 11,859.
"Now, the number has decreased to roughly 11,400," said Lin, citing statistics from June.
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