An amended version of the Animal Protection Act was promulgated on February 4, 2015. This was a major revision of the law, involving 26 articles. Additions to the law cover areas such as: management at the source of pet food; establishment by local governments of specialized agencies responsible for animal protection; permitting local governments to outsource the implementation of animal protection investigations to private animal welfare groups; permitting veterinarians to use medicines made for humans in the treatment of sick animals; strengthening owner responsibility; requiring permits for the use of animals for exhibition or performances; management of special-function dogs; streamlining procedures for adopting pets from shelters; setting a timetable for implementation of a “no-kill” policy; establishing the principle that dogs must be neutered, while dog breeding must be reported to the authorities; requiring the police to assist in enforcement of animal protection; setting a penalty of up to one year in prison for deliberately causing serious injury or death to an animal, or slaughtering dogs or cats for food; increasing education courses on animal protection; and offering rewards for reporting violations of the Animal Protection Act.

　　In addition, the COA announced supporting bylaws and regulations to help local governments effectively enforce the law, including: (a) “Regulations Governing Awards for Reporting Animal Protection Offenses”; (b) “Regulations for Administration of Care for Labor Dogs of Government Organizations”; (c) “Regulations for Animal Protection Courses”; and (d) “Directions to Filing Management Plans on Exemption from Neutering and Breeding Specific Pets.”

Upgrading the efficacy of animal protection

　　As part of the reorganization of the central government, the Council of Agriculture will become the Ministry of Agriculture, and we plan to establish a permanent body responsible for animal protection work and thereby strengthen the administrative structure at the central government level for animal protection affairs. The COA has also begun implementation of a four-year program (2015-2018) to strengthen the administration of animal protection policies, which will raise the effectiveness of local governments and guide citizens to be more pro-active about animal welfare. Under this program we will assist local governments (municipalities, cities, and counties) to deal with their severe shortages of law enforcement manpower, and we will also increase specialized training to create teams with expertise in animal protection. At the same time we will encourage the growth and sustainable management of non-governmental organizations in the animal welfare field. These measures will upgrade the effectiveness of both the central and local governments in this respect, and promote cooperation between the governmental and non-governmental sectors.

　　To encourage pet owners to register their pets as required by law, the COA has been assisting local governments to strengthen pet registration inspections in public spaces. In 2015 there were 61,494 inspections nationwide, and in 22,137 cases, owners were guided to register their unregistered pets. A total of 167,722 new dog registrations were filed in 2015.

　　Moreover, in order to stamp out abandonment or abuse of animals by unethical business people, all businesses engaged in pet breeding, trade, or kenneling are required to apply for a permit from their local government, and cannot go into business until they receive a business license. As of the end of 2015, local governments had issued or renewed 7,975 permits for pet-related businesses. There were a total of 9,677 investigations of cases of unlawful dog sales in 2015, and in 56 cases, following collection of sufficient evidence, the offenders were punished. Finally, through inspections and evaluations of pet businesses, the COA assists consumers to get reliable information about ethical pet-related businesses, to help protect the rights and interests of consumers.

Improving the quality of public animal shelters

　　The COA completed and announced new guidelines for the management of public animal shelters, and combined these with the re-assessed and amended pre-existing guidelines for organization and establishment of animal shelters, so that all publicly-run animal shelters nationwide now have a uniform set of management standards, organizational structures, and standard operating procedures. There have also been improvements in dealing with the manpower shortage in shelter management. In addition, we are continuing to implement our ongoing five-year program (2014-2018) for upgrading government animal control shelters. Under this program we are: (a) guiding and assisting local governments to move rapidly to build new shelters or modernize their outdated old shelters; (b) raising the quality and sophistication of both hardware and software aspects of animal shelters; and (c) working with maximum speed to transform publicly-run animal shelters into “service windows” that will provide the public with high-quality services.

　　In order for publicly-run animal shelters to have the greatest possible benefit for both the animals and the public, it is important that as many of the animals in the shelters as possible be adopted. The COA assists local governments in promoting adoption through diversified channels, taking into account the particular circumstances of each locality. The adoption rate has risen from 13.7% in 2009 to 69.3% in 2015, while the rate of humane euthanasia has fallen from 73.1% in 2009 to 14% in 2015.