Animal rights advocates yesterday called on the government to close loopholes that make it easy to illegally import and breed animals, after the Council of Agriculture (COA) was last month forced to euthanize 154 smuggled cats.
Changes must be made after agency officials on Aug. 21 euthanized the felines, which were smuggled on a Taiwanese fishing boat, Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan deputy director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) told a news conference hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) in Taipei.
The domestic pet industry last year generated NT$30 billion (US$1.08 billion) in revenue, Chen Yu-min said.
She pointed out deficiencies in the Regulations for the Management of Designated Pet Industries (特定寵物業管理辦法) that allow the illegal pet trade to thrive.
First, the regulations require business proprietors to register online the breeds of cats and dogs that they plan to import, but COA officials cannot verify the information, she said.
Second, proprietors submit all of their own import data, including breeding records, sale transactions and microchip implantations, which the agency again cannot verify, she said.
Third, the importation of pets encourages more people to engage in illegal activity, leading to more breeding of cats and dogs to sell in the domestic market, she added.
Some proprietors have moved imported animals to unlicensed breeders, which in turn supply licensed operators and legal pet businesses, she said.
“We found litters that were the product of smuggled cats and dogs, bred at illegal operations,” Chen Yu-min said. “The records and listed litter totals are submitted as born to legally registered cat and dog breeders so that they are permitted for legal sale and bring high profits.”
Other cover-ups include unauthorized use of government-issued business licenses, she said, adding that people pay to borrow a license from an operator that has closed, but not been deregistered.
The COA should designate lists of illegal breeders and establish an electronic registry system to allow for tracing and verification of the information provided, she said.
Chen also recommended that the agency issue breeding permits with restrictions on certain species and breeds, and limit the number of animals at breeding operations.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
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