The Taichung Agriculture Bureau has implemented measures to help care for quarantined or hospitalized people’s pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureau said yesterday.
The comments came after a request for such measures from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung Councilor Chiang Chao-kuo (江肇國).
Taiwan has more pets than children under the age of 15, and Taichung residents own more than 200,000 pets, Chiang said.
Citing Council of Agriculture guidelines promulgated last year, pets are subject to the same home isolation and quarantine protocols as their owners, he said.
This means that when a pet owner is hospitalized or quarantined for COVID-19, their pets must also be put in home isolation without an owner to care for them, he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City have separately implemented policies to help pet owners, he added.
Authorities in these cities would sanitize the pet before giving it to the owner’s family or friends, or sending it to a designated pet-care facility, which charges NT$200 per day, with the total fee usually not exceeding NT$3,000, he said.
Due to a surge in COVID-19 infections over the past few days, Taipei and New Taipei City have contracted pet hotels to help house animals, he said.
Although the science of pet-to-human viral transmission has not yet been settled, Taoyuan last year prepared isolation transport pods to avoid cross-infection during a pet’s transit, Chiang said.
The Taichung City Government should adopt similar policies to better follow the central government’s guidelines and help give hospitalized animal lovers peace of mind as they battle the virus, he said.
The Taichung Agriculture Bureau said that the measures Chiang suggested had already been implemented.
The family or loved ones of a quarantined pet owner are allowed to enter their home to feed the pet. This is preferred as relocation could be distressing to the animal, the bureau said in a news release.
The Taichung Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office would sanitize a pet and provide safe transport to the home of an owner’s friend or family member, or an animal clinic, the bureau said.
The fee at a veterinary clinic for isolated boarding is to be stipulated by the Taichung City Veterinarian Medical Association, exclusive of additional medical care, it said.
The bureau is to prepare a temporary animal care facility, which would cost NT$200 per day per animal, it added.
In related news, the council recommends that dog, cat and mink owners undergoing quarantine not leave their pets outside and first see if another person in their household can help look after the animal.
If no one is able to care for the pet, the owner can contact their local agency in charge of animal quarantine for help.
As there have been some cases reported abroad of animals contracting COVID-19 from their owners, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Deputy Director-General Hsu Jung-pin (徐榮彬) said that authorities would adopt appropriate protective measures.
The animals would be treated similarly to humans in home quarantine and remain in isolation for 14 days, Hsu said.
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