Adjusting the administrative system for animal protection

Regulations governing the internal functions and structure of the COA have been amended to establish a new unit, the Animal Protection Division, specifically responsible for animal protection services. Moreover, the Organization Act of the Ministry of Agriculture (Draft) has been altered to give this unit the status of a “Department” when the Ministry of Agriculture formally comes into existence. These measures strengthen the administrative standing of animal protection within the government.

The COA has also completed a survey of resources required to deal with the problem of stray dogs in Taiwan, and has notified all local governments of the survey’s results. It has recommended that those local governments which have assigned the catching of stray dogs to their sanitation or environmental services should transfer the necessary resources to an animal protection agency. (The COA cannot force them to do so, because this is a choice that, under local-autonomy laws, is left to local governments.) The COA urges local governments, while taking into account basic human rights like personal safety or environmental health and hygiene, to provide high-quality and humane services to deal with stray dogs and uphold the welfare of these animals.

Enforcing stronger rules to protect pets and regulate the pet industry

The COA has been working to persuade citizens to accept a “lifetime commitment” to their pets and to stop pet abandonment. A pet registration system has been in place since September 1, 1999, requiring that dog owners implant identity chips in, and register, their pets. As of the end of December of 2010, a total of 870,000 dogs had completed registration throughout Taiwan, for a rate of 66%. There were 62,919 new registrations in 2010. Local governments discovered 4,934 cases of unregistered pets. In most cases owners were simply warned to rectify the situation, but administrative punishments were handed out in 25 cases.

In order to better understand the market in dogs and stop unethical business people from abandoning animals, the COA now requires all businesses engaged in breeding, trading, and lodging of dogs to register with their local government and obtain an operating license. Local governments issued 533 new pet-industry licenses in 2010, bringing the total number to 3,376 as of the end of December. Local governments also investigated 2,590 cases involving the sale of pets, and issued administrative punishments for unlicensed sale of dogs in 70 cases. Local governments have also done surveys and evaluations of the pet industry to help consumers get information on which businesses adhere to ethical practices, thereby better protecting the interests of both consumers and pets.

Management of animal shelters

The COA has been working for some time now to get local governments to close the crude facilities erected for animal impoundment by local sanitation crews and to build animal shelters managed at the county or city level. So far 18 local governments have built such facilities, while another four have subcontracted the work to community shelters or veterinarians. There are now 39 state-run shelters across Taiwan, and the COA has been overseeing the formulation of uniform standards and standard operating procedures, in order to raise the quality of operations. State-run facilities took in 117,180 dogs and cats in 2010, of which citizens adopted 20,586, on adoption rate of 17.5%. Humane methods were used to euthanize 74,064, for a rate of 63.2%.

A 2009 survey showed that about 1.27 million dogs were being raised as pets in Taiwan at that time. Of these, 47% were gifts from family or friends, 26.8% were bought, 23.7% were found on the streets, and only 3.8% were adopted from shelters, indicating that citizens still do not widely identify with the idea of adoption from shelters. Moreover, people generally still prefer purebreds. The COA will continue to promote the idea of adoption as a substitute for the purchase of a dog, with the aim of raising the adoption rate and reducing the rate of euthanasia.

Humane treatment of economic and experimental animals

The COA has adopted regulations governing animal transport (setting specific norms for pigs, cattle, and goats) and also regulations mandating use of humane methods for slaughtering livestock and poultry. As of the end of December 2010, 2,670 persons had attended professional training on humane transport of animals, 29 events had been held to train transport personnel, and 21 events had been held to train persons working in the slaughtering industry. These measures have increased awareness of animal protection and reduced animal deaths from overpacking, which also means lower economic losses.

The COA has amended the rules governing how institutions are supposed to monitor the care and use of animals for experimental purposes. Under these regulations, each applied-science institution is required to set up an autonomous monitoring committee, and to implement the 3Rs: replacement, reduction, and refinement. In addition, the powers and responsibilities of local governments have been strengthened to create an effective mechanism for reporting problems and punishing violators. As of the end of December of 2010, 211 applied-science institutions in Taiwan had set up monitoring committees, inspections had been held at 40 sites of such institutions, and 25 technical inquiries had been handled. The COA now publishes an annual overview on our country’s experimental animals, and will continue to work to raise the welfare of experimental animals in Taiwan.