The Council of Agriculture (COA) has set up a new division responsible for regulating the pet industry, pet ownership and pet welfare, the council said yesterday.
Council Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) told a news conference in Taipei that about 2.5 million dogs and cats are kept as pets in Taiwan, and that the annual output value of the pet industry had grown to more than NT$500 million (US$17.42 million).
“At the current 10 percent annual growth rate, that means there could be 12 million pet dogs and cats in the country by 2040,” Chen said, adding that pets deserve welfare protection “just as people do.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The council said in a news release that the pet management division had been set up ahead of planned amendments to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), as it is seeking to bolster government oversight of the pet industry and pet welfare.
The council had drafted a “white list” of animal species and breeds that can be kept as pets, based on the standards of animal welfare, risks posed by potentially invasive species, and human and animal safety, it said.
The section would initially have six employees at the council headquarters and about 100 staffers in local government offices, the council said.
It would have an annual budget of NT$150 million, it added.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the event that the planned legal amendments would focus on “traceability,” mandating that pets be registered at birth and each time they change owners throughout their lives.
The establishment of the section follows criticism from animal protection groups — especially those dealing with abandoned pets and stray animals — that the council was not doing enough to crack down on irresponsible pet owners and breeders.
Chen last month said that the new section would initially focus on dogs and cats, but would later expand to include other animals commonly kept as pets, including birds and reptiles.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
RSS