Volunteer animal caretakers yesterday accused the New Taipei City (新北市) Government of negligence over inaction about rumors of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) spreading in a local tourism hotspot known as “the Cat Village.”
However, the city government has claimed it has not received any reports of an FPV outbreak.
The “Cat Village” is a tourist hotspot in the Houtong area (猴硐) of New Taipei City’s Ruifang District (瑞芳) that became popular since 2009.
Photo: Wang Ying-chieh, Taipei Times
It is also the only place in the country that currently has a bridge — resembling a gray cat in appearance — for use by both humans and cats.
A volunteer, surnamed Chou (周), said he brought a cat to a New Taipei City veterinarian after it fell off a roof last month.
After a checkup on May 24, the veterinarian found the cat had contracted FPV, Chou said.
Chou said this was not the first time FPV had been reported in Houtong, adding that volunteer groups have already alerted residents to be on the lookout for sick cats and to help with sanitation by having the cats disinfected.
Previously, an alleged case of FPV had been reported in in Houtong on May 10, volunteers said.
The volunteers also asked that tourists exercise caution while near the cats and refrain from petting them.
If tourists simply cannot resist the urge to pet the cats, they should wash their hands thoroughly afterward, the volunteers said, adding that tourists should also disinfect themselves before returning home.
Tourists should also refrain from bringing their house cats to the area if they have not been vaccinated, they added.
According to Ruifang District’s Gongciao Communal Development Association executive chief Chen Yi-chun (陳宜群), FPV infections usually hit the Houtoung area during this time of year.
Chen asked the government to take into consideration the feelings of Houtong residents and deal with the problem of stray cats.
Meanwhile, the acting chef of the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Chang Li-chen (張麗珍) said the office has not received any reports of FPV infections.
According to Chang, all 68 cats in the village were vaccinated during the commencement ceremony of the bridge in February, adding that the vaccines should be good for the entire year.
There should be no problems about FPV, Chang said, adding that the office would look into the matter.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS