As a precaution against the spread of rabies, visitors are forbidden from taking cats, dogs or other pets with them to Yilan County’s Taipingshan (太平山), the Forestry Bureau’s Luodong (羅東) office said.
The Luodong Forest District Office decided to impose the ban from Aug. 1 to July 31 next year to keep rabies from spreading to domesticated animals, and to protect the safety of tourists and their pets.
The ban is in effect for all forests and recreational parks under the office’s jurisdiction, including the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, the Cilan National Forest Recreation Area and the Mingchih Forest Recreation Area, it said.
The office said it reviews the policy every year, adding that the ban was prompted by an outbreak of rabies in Chinese ferret-badgers that had been reported in 76 townships and villages in nine counties and cities in Taiwan last year.
While no Chinese ferret-badgers in the area have tested positive for rabies, due to the severity of the situation the office cannot rule out the possibility of infected animals carrying rabies to its jurisdiction and endangering the safety of tourists and their pets, the office said.
According to the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例), any tourist caught with a mammalian pet in a restricted area faces a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$1 million (US$1,581 and US$31,628), the office said.
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