Taiwan is the first country to officially ban the eating of cats and dogs

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Taiwan became the first Asian country to completely ban the eating of dog and cat meat. A new amendment to the law was passed on Tuesday, April 11, and now anyone arrested for eating, buying or possessing cat and dog meat can face a very substantial fine, up to 250,000 Taiwanese dollars, which is equivalent to approximately $ 8,000.

The island's authorities outlawed several points at once: the sale, consumption and storage of pet meat, and also increased the punishment for cruelty and abuse of animals. Those charged with cruelty or murder of cats and dogs could be jailed for two years or fined approximately 2 million Taiwanese dollars ($ 65,000). If a person is arrested for repeated violations of this law, they may remain in prison for five years or be ordered to pay the equivalent of $ 163,000.

The new amendment significantly increased the amount of the fine for restaurants that can serve or sell meat of cats and dogs. In addition, it will no longer be legally allowed to walk dogs, tying them to a bicycle or moped and forcing them to run alongside. The names of violators will not be hidden by law and the lists will be publicly available.

The pet rights movement intensified after a series of animal cruelty incidents that rocked the public. One of these incidents was a video in which three soldiers beat a stray dog to death. The military was obliged to apologize for what happened, but the indignation of the people was so great that no apologies were able to return the situation to its previous level, and a whole series of street protests began.

Another case was the death of a hippo, which was performing in one of Taiwan's central zoos. The animal severely injured its leg and received several bruises during transportation. His death served as another reason for renewed protests with renewed vigor.

At the same time, it must be admitted that Taiwan did not become the first country in which it was forbidden to kill pets for meat, but the ban on eating it was adopted for the first time in the history of Asian countries. In Taiwan, as in several other neighboring countries, eating dog meat was considered quite common and was widespread. Although dog meat dishes have lost their popularity lately, they were still quite easy to find in restaurants or at various festivals.

The new law means that Taiwan is now the leader among all Asian countries in terms of animal rights protection. Perhaps this will mark the beginning of tremendous changes throughout Asia. Even the current President of the Republic of China, Tsai Ing-wen, appealed in her election campaign to a similar increase in punishment for cruelty to animals (Tsai Ing-wen has two cats and three dogs at home, which she took from the shelter), so activists very much hope that the current amendment to the law will also be reflected in Chinese legislation.

No less acute than in Asia, the problem with the protection of animal rights is in Romania. So, at the beginning of this year, the journalist went on the trail of a local maniac who killed and maimed animals, but how this story ended, read our article