Sat, Jan 10, 2015 page3

• Lower animal death rates, improved shelter called for

  ZERO TOLERANCE: Animal welfare groups said that the government should be pushing toward a ‘zero euthanasia’ policy and reducing death-in-shelter rates

  • By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter
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  The Life Conservationist Association and the Animal Protection Administration Oversight Committee yesterday said that death-in-shelter rates and euthanasia rates in animal shelters should be lowered with the assistance and supervision of the government, calling on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to make good on his promise in January last year to improve animal welfare standards.

  Accompanied by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏), the groups held a news conference urging the government to place a “zero euthanasia” policy on its agenda, and to aggressively intervene in the operations of shelters to reduce both death-in-shelter and euthanasia rates.

  Death-in-shelter refers to the death of animals in shelters from diseases or accidents rather than euthanasia, the association said, adding that the national death-in-shelter rate of 13 percent is much higher than the world average of 3 percent.

  Association executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) played a video clip showing how stray dogs were inappropriately and unprofessionally treated after they were captured and put into a shelter. The animals were overcrowded in cages and when they were too afraid to leave the cages on arrival at shelters, they were “dumped out” by handlers.

  “The stray animals were then left to their own devices, subject to cross-infection, and left to die of starvation or other causes,” Ho said.

  Wang said that there have always been problems of overcrowding and mistreatment at shelters, adding that legislative efforts have been made to reduce the euthanasia rate, urging the government to regulate owners and remind them of their responsibilities to their pets.

  Committee member Wang Wei-chi (王唯治) said the groups appreciated Alicia Wang’s efforts to push zero euthanasia.

  “However, at the same time, we must acknowledge that more than 10,000 dogs die in shelters [due to causes unrelated to euthanasia] every year,” Wang Wei-chi said.

  From 2008 to last year, out of about 560,000 sheltered animals, about 120,000 died of causes other than euthanasia and 440,000 were humanely put down, said Wang Wei-chi, citing a graph showing that while the euthanasia rate has reduced gradually due to public petitioning, the death-in-shelter rate has not changed much from the rate recorded seven years ago.

  The death rate in Greater Kaohsiung shelters was the highest nationwide at 33.6 percent last year, followed by Lienchiang County (30 percent) and Changhua County (27.05 percent), according to the groups.

  “Authorities should investigate shelters to find out why the death rate has remained so high in these cities and counties,” Wang Wei-chi said.

  Animal Husbandry Department Deputy Director Chu Ching-cheng (朱慶誠), who was at the news conference, said that at least NT$2.5 billion (US$78.1 million) has been allocated for the improvement of shelters, to separate diseased animals and increase numbers of veterinarians at shelters.
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