The Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TSPCA) is asking the international community’s help to urge Taiwan’s government to end the current capture-kill policy and make it illegal to neglect animals.

On December 26th, 2012 the amendment of the Animal Protection Act in Taiwan was scheduled to take place.

The SPCA and several other animal organizations in Taiwan spent months prior, preparing materials for the introduction of new bills that would better protect animals in Taiwan.

Ending capture-kill policy
The proposed legislation would set regulations that would limit authorities to only catching stray animals that pose a threat to human beings, as a way of preventing the needless killing of large numbers of stray animals.

Over the past 13 years, the government has caught over 1.4 million stray dogs in Taiwan because currently the only policy regarding stray animals in the country is to capture them and euthanize. With only approximately 6000 available spaces in government shelters around Taiwan, the number of stray animals will never be reduced with the capture-kill policy. Coupled with the fact that the government does not support TNR (trap-neuter-release) and hopes to make it illegal in Taiwan, the stray population is destined to keep growing.

Furthermore, TSPCA’s amendments to the act also called for controls on the breeding of cats and dogs to help reduce the number of strays, thereby tackling the root of the problem.

Confronting neglectful owners
TSPCA also want the Animal Protection Act to include neglect and emotional abuse of animals as being illegal. We want to eradicate the improper rearing of pets by setting regulations such as minimum cage size, minimum leash length, and maximum number of hours animals can be kept in a cage.

These points are extremely important as many, many pet owners often keep their animals in cages or on short leashes 24 hours a day, everyday.

On the 26th, before TSPCA’s proposed bills were even discussed in detail, the director of the Council of Agriculture voiced his opinions in front of the legislators of the Economic’s Committee responsible for the Animal Protection Act. He stated that the new amendments were impossible to execute and that the term ‘stray animals’ should not be stated in the Act. He explains that there should not be any stray animals and that by including it in the Act, it would mean that the government supports abandonment and accepts having animals on the streets.

The meeting was halted halfway and postponed until Monday, January 7th because of the disagreements within the room.

As an animal protection group TSPCA do not want to see stray animals on the streets either, but they want the government to face the reality that Taiwan has a large number of strays on the streets already, therefore they must set regulations on how to protect their welfare and reduce their numbers humanely and effectively.

TSPCA are asking the International community to send postal letters and emails to Taiwan’s President and Premier of the Executive Yuan and ask them to support the new proposed bills for the Animal Protection Act in setting regulations:

1) to increase the welfare of stray animals in Taiwan and not just adhere to a capture-kill policy;

2) to reduce the number of stray animals by allowing for TNR to be done legally and to regulate the breeding of animals;

3) to eradicate the improper rearing of pets by setting detailed and more stringent laws;

1) Taiwan’s President, Mr. Ma, Ying Jeou
Email Contact: Link
Address: Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan)
No. 122, Sec. 1, Chongqing S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10048, Taiwan (ROC)
Telephone: +886-2-2311-3731　

2) Premier of the Executive Yuan, Mr. Chen, Chun (Sean Chen)
Contact: eyemail@ey.gov.tw
Address: No.1, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City 10058, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Telephone: +886-2-3356-6500

Please feel free to fax your stamped letters to the Taiwan SPCA directly and they can mail it out from their Taipei office.
Taiwan SPCA Fax: +886-2-2367-0317

*Please make sure postal letters will arrive at the President’s office and the Premier’s office before January 3rd, 2012.
Faxed letters to the SPCA and Emails to the offices before January 3rd, 2012.

TSPCA CONTACT:
姜怡如 CONNIE CHIANG
創辦人/執行長
辦公室: +886 2 2367 0317
手機: +886 (0) 953 850 303
“向虐待動物行為說不”

Co-Founder/Executive Director
Office: +886 2 2367 0317
“Say NO to Animal Abuse”