The Taipei City Government is working on a self-government ordinance to deal with pet sitters, officials said on Thursday, as city councilors called for better regulation of the profession.
The Taipei Animal Protection Office is mulling a licensing scheme for freelance pet sitters that would require them to undergo 200 hours of training, office director Sung Nien-chieh (宋念潔) told a city council meeting.
This means freelance pet sitters would be held to the same standards that apply to pet hotel employees, she said.
Photo: CNA
The office is consulting animal welfare groups and academics before drafting the ordinance, with an eye to publicizing details of the bill in two years, she said.
Sung’s comments were in response to a resolution passed by the Taipei City Council Finance and Construction Committee, which voted in support of a motion by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) for the city to regulate pet sitters.
The Council of Agriculture’s regulations for the pet industry does not apply to freelance pet sitters, Hsu said.
This means freelancers might cause harm to consumers or their pets with little liability, she said, adding that the city should step in to close a loophole created by outdated laws.
The city should include dog walkers in its proposed ordinance, independent Taipei City Councilor Yang Ching-yu (楊靜宇) added.
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