New Taipei City officials on Saturday warned people to do their research before buying pet pigs, saying that last year, they dealt with 14 cases involving abandoned or escaped pigs and improper disposal of pig carcasses.
Eleven of the cases involved musk pigs, indicating that the owners might have confused them with miniature pigs, New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Director Yang Shu-fang (楊淑方) said in a news release.
Although the piglets of the two species look similar, an adult musk pig weighs 120kg on average, she said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
Musk pigs are bred for their adorable appearance and gentle temperament, but have special dietary and health needs, and require a lot of space, the department said.
They live up to 10 years on average, it said.
A musk pig is a significant commitment for unprepared pet owners, it said, adding that people interested in adopting musk pigs must be certain that they could properly care for the animals.
Taiwan is close to eliminating common swine fever while carrying out the crucial task of preventing the African variant of the disease from its borders, veterinarian Lee Yu-yeh (黎玉葉) said.
An owner’s failure to secure their pig is punishable by a NT$3,000 to NT$15,000 (US$92 to US$458) fine under the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), and the penalty could be increased up to 10 times for deliberate abandonment, Lee said.
The abandonment of a pig or failure to secure it that leads to the spread of a communicable animal disease, or the improper disposal of a pig carcass, is punishable by a maximum fine of NT$1 million, she said.
Last year’s animal welfare cases involving pigs were reported in Sanchong (三重), Sinjhuang (新莊), Wugu (五股), Sijhih (汐止), Bali (八里), Tamsui (淡水) and Shuangsi (雙溪) districts, the department said.
A three-month-old musk pig weighing 36kg escaped from its home before animal welfare officers captured and returned it to its owner, who was fined NT$3,000 for negligence, it said.
The department said that it put up a rescued juvenile musk pig for adoption after no one came forward to claim responsibility for the animal, it said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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