Two National Fire Agency rescue dogs that were detained at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday were yesterday allowed to pass through customs on the condition that they are to be kept in quarantine for 21 days, the Council of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
According to the agency, the dogs and their handlers were returning to Taiwan from a cooperative training program in Germany, but the dogs were detained because the handlers failed to obtain quarantine papers at their point of departure.
“We reminded the handlers to obtain the papers, but the handlers said that the dogs’ cages did not comply with the local regulations and were changed, during which time they forgot to obtain the documents,” the agency said.
Photo: CNA, provided by the Council of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine
The bureau’s Hsinchu branch said that the handlers had shouted at bureau personnel, saying they were “too busy” to obtain the correct documentation.
Bureau officials said that there was an implied threat when the handlers asked who would “shoulder the responsibility” if anything happened to the “government’s dogs.”
The normal procedure for checking dogs into Taiwan takes 30 minutes, but due to the handlers’ uncooperative attitude, it took one hour, bureau officials said, adding that the dogs were in “perfect health” while they were detained at the airport.
Bureau director-general Huang Te-chang said that the bureau contacted the veterinary clinic that the dogs had visited prior to returning to Taiwan in hopes that the veterinarian would cooperate and provide official papers showing that the dogs had been checked for diseases.
However, Huang said that the official response from Germany was that they were unwilling to help as they did not have the dogs on-site.
As per regulations, the dogs would normally be kept under quarantine at the airport for 21 days.
However, upon receiving bureau approval, the agency can see to the quarantine of the dogs themselves, while the bureau would send personnel for periodic checkups, the bureau said, adding that the dogs are to be kept under quarantine in Nantou County’s Jhushan Township (竹山).
The bureau’s decision to release the dogs came after Internet rumors suggesting the dogs would be put down sparked a public uproar.
Bureau officials said that they suspected the handlers started the rumors.
Additional reporting by CNA
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
RSS