Prospective dog owners should be aware that American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers can from March 1 no longer be owned without being registered, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has said.
The new regulations were introduced after a series of attacks by pit bull terriers, including one in which a three-year-old boy died after being attacked by a dog owned by his neighbors in Pingtung County in December last year.
The council categorizes six dog breeds as “aggressive”: pit bull terriers, Tosas, Neapolitan mastiffs, Brazilian mastiffs, Dogo Argentinos and other mastiffs.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Animal Protection Office via CNA
Animal Husbandry Department Deputy Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) asked owners of American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers to register their dogs before March 1, as the council listed those breeds in an amendment to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法).
The amendment, which took effect on Oct. 26 last year, classifies the two kinds of terrier as “breed(s) of animals whose ownership, exportation and importation have been banned by the central competent authority,” he said.
Owners and importers of the two breeds who have acquired or are to acquire their dogs before March 1 must register them before Feb. 28 next year, he said.
The dogs must be registered in the city or county of residence of the owner, Chiang said, urging owners to inform the authorities of address changes.
The act also prohibits the breeding of American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers, he said.
Government-registered breeders would be allowed to continue to breed the dogs so long as they register all puppies after birth, Chiang said.
However, dogs born after the registration requirement comes into effect cannot be used for further breeding, he said.
Starting from March 1, owners of the two breeds may only sell their dogs to people with experience owning dogs of the respective breed, Chiang said.
Those who breach the new rules would face fines of NT$50,000 to NT$250,000, he said.
However, as the amendment closely defines the breeds affected, owners of other kinds of pit bulls would not face any additional curbs, Chiang said.
As pit bulls are generally classified as “aggressive,” they can only be walked in public by an adult, and must be leashed and muzzled at all times.
Department of Animal Industry data show that as of Dec. 15 last year, 199 American pit bull terriers and 31 American Staffordshire terriers had been registered, while registrations for 2,407 pit bulls of other breeds had been filed.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS