Animal welfare advocates yesterday panned the soon to-be-
implemented zero animal euthanasia policy following the suspected suicide of a veterinarian, saying that the policy only creates the illusion that shelter animals are cared for, while condemning them to poor living conditions and doing nothing to reduce the number of stray animals.
The suspected suicide of Chien Chih-cheng (簡稚澄), the director of an animal shelter in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋), by animal euthanasia drugs on May 5 has prompted debate about stray animal policies, with the Council of Agriculture reaffirming that the zero euthanasia policy is to take effect next year and proposing a NT$1.9 billion (US$58.18 million) budget to improve shelter facilities and improve animal protection.
“Money is not the point. The problems with stray animals and how they are sheltered is the lack of ‘source management,’” Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) said.
“The council’s budget is aimed at improving shelter facilities and execution of animal protection policy, but allocates no resources on pet owners and breeders — the major source of stray animals — to reduce the number of stray animals. That shows the government does not have the vision to solve the problem,” Chen said.
“The zero euthanasia policy is akin to prescribing a maximum dose of morphine to create a feel-good illusion that shelter animals are well taken cared of. However, animals have to put up with overcrowding at shelters, which are always understaffed and lacking resources, and dogs can easily die from fights and diseases. There is no animal welfare for shelter animals,” he said.
A successful source management policy would see tougher regulations on animal breeding, the establishment of an accountability system for pet owners, comprehensive neutering of domestic animals, and strengthening of requirements for pet purchases and adoptions, she said.
Puppy farms are a major source of stray animals, as they produce more than 160,000 puppies every year, not including unhealthy ones that do not enter the market, she said, adding that more than 100,000 animals are admitted to shelters every year on average, and nearly 70 percent of them are euthanized because they cannot be adopted.
Pet registration has to be undertaken in such a way that owners can be held culpable if they abandon their pets, and a more stringent set of requirements should be in place that would prohibit irresponsible pet owners and substandard animal breeders, she said.
Many pet dogs are not neutered and give birth to puppies that end up in shelters or on the street, she added.
The council said it is following the suggestions of animal welfare groups and promoting pet registration and awareness among breeders and owners.
However, existing laws cannot deter owners from abandoning pets, because the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) does not stipulate punishments for owners who abandon pets at shelters.
Abandoned pets account for about 20 percent of shelter animals, while 60 percent are captured street animals, the council said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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