The stray dog problem will never be resolved until the public learns to stop dumping unwanted pets, academics said at a public forum on animal welfare yesterday.
Most people assume that stray dogs are proliferating because the vast majority of strays are not neutered, said Fei Chang-yung (
Debunking the myth, Fei said that a lack of food sources and the high incidence of canine distemper meant it would be hard for puppies to survive long past weaning without human assistance.
"It's true that strays breed, but most puppies they give birth to simply starve or die of illness," he said. "Most new strays are not born homeless but are abandoned."
To back up his claim, Fei pointed to research conducted by the Council of Agriculture (COA) showing that 16 percent of stray dogs in the country tested positive for rabies antibodies -- a sign that they had been inoculated against rabies at some point.
"We need to take care of the problem at the source -- - abandoned pets," Fei said. "Until that is done, all secondary efforts to control the stray dog population, including euthanization, TNR [trap, neuter and release] and rehoming will fail."
"We have gone from having no laws to enforce to having unenforced laws," veterinary science professor Yeh Li-son (
Yeh was referring to animal welfare statutes that call for pet animals to be registered and chipped, a measure which, if enforced, could lower the rate of abandoned pets.
Su Bi-ling (
Dogs are euthanized after a certain number of days in the shelter, or if they have skin disease over a certain percentage of their body. Su said she would like to see that changed to take a dog's age, general health and friendliness into account.
"Some aged dogs are better off euthanized early because they will never find another home," she said. "However, young dogs that can make good pets should be given another chance even if they have some treatable skin disease such as folliculitis."
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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