Proposed exotic pet regulations in Taiwan would require owners to register animals such as meerkats, snapping turtles, caimans and pythons, while banning private breeding, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said yesterday.
The new rules were broadly outlined during a meeting held by the MOA's Department of Animal Welfare with representatives of animal protection groups, pet owners, related businesses, scholars and experts earlier in the day.
To legally own meerkats, snapping turtles, caimans and pythons as pets in the future, owners would have to fulfill ownership conditions and register their pets with the government, Chen Chung-hsing (陳中興), deputy director of the department, said to the media after the meeting.
Photo: Taipei Times
Owners would also be prohibited from breeding the animals privately, he added.
In addition, sellers and professional breeders would be required to obtain government approval, provide facilities that comply with legal standards and pass non-scheduled inspections carried out by their respective local governments, Chen said.
Details of the new rules and how they are to be implemented going forward would be discussed at later meetings, he added.
Photo courtesy of Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan
However, the official gave no timeline for the implementation of the policy.
Chen also responded to an online statement released Tuesday, in which the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan criticized the department's inclusion of meerkats on its "grey list."
Currently, Taiwanese law only regulates the import and quarantine of meerkats, but once placed on the grey list, they can be legally kept, bred and traded under a set of enforceable provisions.
Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Government Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
Citing the popularity of meerkats from films and animation, the groups argued that the move could drive demand, fueling illegal trade and poor care, and urged a total ban instead.
Chen said that since some people already keep the animal as pets, a total ban is "incompatible with the status-quo."
He argued that by including meerkats in the new policy, owners and the industry can be better managed and improvements made more effective, leading to improved animal welfare.
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