Fw: (Taiwan) Taiwan's animal shelters slammed over conditions

[Guest guest]

The principal of Taipei City's Municipal Hsisung Senior High School holds

Little Kuai, one of three stray dogs adopted by the high school, in this

file photo from September 2000. Most of the nation's strays, however, are

not so fortunate, as a recent visit to a pound demonstrated to animal rights

activists.

 

Taiwan's animal shelters slammed over conditions

 

POOR TREATMENT: Saying some dogs at the nation's pounds are so hungry

they've resorted to cannibalism, animal protection activists attacked

officials for lax regulatory enforcement

 

DPA, TAIPEI

 

Taiwan animal-rights activists yesterday lambasted conditions at

government-run dog shelters, saying some animals at one pound were even

resorting to cannibalism.

 

Recent inspections at one shelter on the east coast revealed neglect and

horrific conditions for dogs that were left so hungry they began to eat

other dogs in the compound.

 

" Dogs were gnawing on the corpses of other dogs, but one of the dogs being

bitten was still alive, " said Wu Hung (®©ªl), chairman of the Environment

and Animal Society of Taiwan (¥xÆW°Êª«ªÀ·|¬ã¨s·|). " Dogs were gnawing on the

corpses of other dogs, but one of the dogs being bitten was still alive. ...

I can't believe this is still happening after the government enacted the

Animal Protection Law four years ago. "

 

Wu Hung, chairman of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan,

describing the scene at a shelter on the east coast

 

" I can't believe this is still happening after the government enacted the

Animal Protection Law four years ago. "

 

Wu was one of several activists from different animal-rights organizations

who went to inspect a kennel at Hualien County's Chian township this month

and found sub-standard conditions, with many of the dogs cramped together in

unsanitary conditions.

 

Taiwan has long been under fire from international media for the

mistreatment of stray dogs. Although the passing of the Animal Protection

Law in 1998 brought some improvement, more needs to be done, animal lovers

say. An estimated 660,000 to one million stray dogs are roaming the streets

of the nation.

 

The campaigners urged the Council of Agriculture, which is responsible for

dog shelters, to improve conditions.

 

They also provided video footage from the shelter showing gaunt dogs biting

chunks out of each other, as well as dog carcasses rotting on floors awash

with blood and canine excrement.

 

" The dogs were left without food and water, " said Chi Shu-ying (»ô²Q­^),

vice secretary general of the Life Conservationist Association

(ÃöÃh¥Í©R¨ó·|). " Those which ate the corpses of other dogs were near

starvation. "

 

Chi said she was enraged about the situation at the compound as local

authorities had sufficient funds to feed the dogs.

 

Meanwhile, the agriculture council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health

Inspection and Quarantine said that it had already sent an official to

Hualien to investigate the matter and had fired two workers at the shelter.

 

The bureau also said since 1998 some NT$6 million had been invested in

setting up the dog shelter in Chian alone and that another NT$3 million had

been used for its administration.

 

" It's not enough to punish the workers, high-ranking officials need to take

responsibility, " animal-rights activist Chi said, pointing out that

conditions at some other shelters were equally appalling and needed to be

improved quickly.