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Animal rights alliance launched
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter
Animal welfare activists accompanied by dogs
gather outside the Legislative Yuan yesterday. The activists said they would
monitor the animal rights policies of candidates in next month’s special
municipality elections so that concerned voters could make an informed choice.
PHOTO: CNA
Dozens of animal rights activists coordinated through the
Internet launched the Animal Protection Policy Watch Alliance yesterday, calling
on mayoral and councilor candidates taking part in next month’s special
municipality elections to promise better treatment of animals.
“It’s shocking to know that around 100,000 stray animals — mostly cats and dogs
— are subject to mercy killings each year,” co-founder of the alliance Ho
Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said. “The current Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) offers no
protection at all to the right to survival of animals — we hope that future
special municipality mayors will reduce the number of animals killed, and
develop animal protection policies that are based on the ideas of animal
rights.”
Another co-founder of the -alliance, Huang Tai-shan (黃泰山) said that the alliance
plans to invite all candidates participating in the elections to sign letters of
undertaking to offer more protection to animals once they are elected.
“At the moment, we would ask them to create animal protection agencies in their
respective cities and a police force specially focused on animal protection,”
Huang said.
He said that the alliance will publish a list of animal-friendly candidates
based on candidates’ responses to their demands before polling day on Nov. 27,
and urge animal lovers to form a voting bloc to support animal-friendly
candidates.
“We will continue to monitor the animal protection policies of local and central
governments after this coming election,” Huang said.
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