Public animal shelters in eight municipalities last year received more animals than their capacities allowed, which an animal rights advocate said was due to official negligence in the run-up to the Nov. 24 local elections.
Public shelters in Taipei, Tainan, Taoyuan, Chiayi City and Hsinchu, Nantou, Yunlin and Pingtung counties have been housing more animals than they were designed for, Council of Agriculture data for November last year showed.
The Taipei shelter housed a total of 1,120 animals, almost double its maximum capacity of 610, the data showed.
Photo: Huang Chung-shan, Taipei Times
Shelters in Taichung and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Penghu and Kinmen counties, were at more than 90 percent capacity, the data showed.
Overcrowding at public animal shelters has been a problem since the implementation of a “no-kill” policy on Feb. 6, 2017, Council of Agriculture Department of Animal Industry Deputy Director Wang Chung-shu (王忠恕) said yesterday.
The no-kill policy stems from an amendment to Article 12, Paragraph 7 of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) passed in 2015, which previously stated that shelters could put down stray animals not adopted after 12 days in shelters.
After the amendment took effect in 2017, public shelters could only kill animals that have incurable diseases or infectious conditions, or pose great danger to public safety.
Instead of building more shelters, which is difficult in urban areas such as Taipei, the council has pushed local shelters to improve accommodation quality, promote adoption and neuter stray animals to reduce their numbers, Wang said.
Many local governments last year neglected their duties to supervise animal shelters, because they were preoccupied with the elections, Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said, but added that New Taipei City, Tainan and Taitung municipal authorities made a better effort.
Shelters should control the number of animals they house by only catching those that threaten people’s lives, he said.
In addition to reducing numbers of stray animals through the the “trap-neuter-return” program, the government should encourage animal adoption through diversified channels, including training dogs to guard schools, police stations and farms, Ho said.
Campaigners have called on the government to raise the penalty for people abandoning pets, who currently face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
However, Wang said that heavier fines would be disproportionate and improving animal protection education would be more effective than harsher punishments.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust