Taiwan has banned the eating of cats and dogs, as pressure grows to improve animal welfare after a spate of cruelty cases that stirred public outrage.
Parliament passed legislation to outlaw the consumption, purchase or possession of dog and cat meat, with offenders facing a fine of up to Tw$250,000 (€7,700).
The bill also increased the penalty for killing or abusing animals to a maximum two-year jail term and a fine of Tw$2 million, more than doubling that for repeat offenders.
"This shows that Taiwan is a society with advanced animal welfare," said Wang Yu-min, who proposed the amendment.
Like some other Asian nations, dog consumption was common in Taiwan decades ago and although it is much rarer now, there have been sporadic reports of shops being caught selling dog meat in recent years.
A string of much-publicised animal abuse cases has also triggered deep public concern, and demands for tougher protection laws.
Last year, the military was forced to apologise after a video surfaced of three soldiers torturing and strangling a stray dog to death with an iron chain, prompting several street protests.
In 2014, a male hippo famous for regularly performing at a private zoo in central Taiwan died after breaking a leg and sustaining other injuries during transportation, sparking a public outcry.
I resteemed because of the topic and how it should be spread more.
https://steemit.com/animalrescue/@mammasitta/episode4-backstage-bali-an-endless-fight-to-save-animals-and-teach-governments-about-compassion-i-love-bali-dogs-and-the-pet
Are hot dogs still safe?
Finally some good news! Thanks for sharing , my other half will be happy to read this article!
Interesting
I will follow you to see your future posts! +upvote
Congratulations @thecuriousone! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0412/867099-taiwan-cats-and-dogs/