What to do if you see animal abuse (new contact details)

Life Pets & Domestic Animals
1

Please, if you see anything that contravenes the Animal Protection Law, contact the Taipei Municipal Institute for Animal Health and report it. Get evidence and document what you see. Ask to speak to Amanda Han (tmiah033@tmiah.tcg.gov.tw / 02 8789 7133), as she speaks great English and comes highly recommended by the RSPCA as being an animal-welfare officer with great potential.

Animal Protection Law, Article 5.

Article 11.

[quote]Animal keepers shall provide proper medical care for their animals in the event of injury or illness.

A medical treatment of and surgical operation on animals shall be carried out by a veterinarian in accordance with the requirements of the animalsā€™ health and management, except in the cases of emergency, scientific utilization, or other conditions specified by the competent central organization.
[/quote]

Animal Protection Law in full: http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/98html/aplaw.htm
TMIAH Website: http://www.tmiah.tcg.gov.tw/homepage/frameset_set4.jsp
TMIAH No.: Tel: 02-8789-7158, or 02-87897131 for Animal Protection Law enforcement - this department also oversees pet shops and breeders and the issuance of licenses.)

The TMIAH has successfully penalised offenders in over 200 cases in the last couple of years. If more people report animal abuse or cruelty, this office will have to do even more.

Please, report what you see and follow up to see what the TMIAH is doing. (Donā€™t lose your patience with them, as they do what they can with the resources they have, and we donā€™t want them to stop trying because foreigners start shouting at them for the red-tape the government wraps them up in.)

Good luck and please let us know what happens.

Sean

Moderator Edit:
Kaohsiung City Municipal Institute for Animal Health: b224-9733[/b]

Kaohsiung County Municipal Institute for Animal Health:b746-2368[/b]

2

Do they speak English at those numbers? I have a few case I could report.

3

Nama, first part of Seanā€™s post says:[quote]Ask to speak to Amanda Yeh, as she speaks great English and comes highly recommended by the RSPCA as being an animal-welfare officer with great potential. [/quote]

4

I donā€™t read anymore I guess. :blush: :blush:

5

Iā€™m glad you guys changed the title away from the unfortunate ā€œā€¦if you see animal abuse by Stray Dogā€. I was gonna begin staking his kennel out to catch him at it (er, abusing animals, that is)ā€¦

Getting evidence is particularly important in this procedureā€¦ without it, the animal protection people canā€™t do squat. But this is important to protect us rather than people who do abuse animals. Without this rule, anybody could claim that they saw, say, Stray Dog beating a dog within an inch of its life and all his hard work rescuing the many dogs with him now will be worth nothing, as they face certain death. Not to mention, if they came for my dogs, Iā€™d be on the roof dropping anvils and pianos on their heads.

6

I just updated the contact name and info.

7

So when are they going to stop the owners of snake and reptile shops in snake alley, skinning the snakes alive ?

I think that is cruel. Am i alone in this ? It is quite a nasty way to kill a snake. Why not smack it in the head first to stun it and then kill it. Why slowly peel it alive ? Is that legal in Taiwan ?

8

[quote=ā€œfenlanderā€]So when are they going to stop the owners of snake and reptile shops in snake alley, skinning the snakes alive ?

I think that is cruel. Am i alone in this ? It is quite a nasty way to kill a snake. Why not smack it in the head first to stun it and then kill it. Why slowly peel it alive ? Is that legal in Taiwan ?[/quote]

I agree. And the fact that it takes place so publicly. You can also see mongooses fighting cobras and videos of illegal dogfighting down there.

This is one area I would like to see something done about. As Animals Taiwan grows, assisting law enforcement is something we would love to move into - perhaps as an SPCA.

You should definitely write to various government bodies about this, including the Council of Agriculture and the tourist board, as well as asking Amanda what she suggests. And try contacting EAST, http://www.east.org.tw/, as this is what they specialize in.

9

I have complained before to different people actually. I got into a fight down there many years ago (nasty one). The fight was over an orangutan they had chained up down there. They kept smashing it over the head with a small iron rod eveytime it didnā€™t do its tricks. I got pissed off and it all started. Lucky i was with my brother in law who is a Taiwan cop as getting into fights down there u will lose unless you run off fast. He calmed it down. As they will come at you ten to one with machetes etc Anyway the orangatan was never seen again.

Basically nothing has been done down there as the animal protection officers dare do nothing down there. (I guess and donā€™t blame them for it).

This needs more major exposure. The government cleaned up the red light area compared to what it was around there but not snake alley. If anyone is good with secret cameras then go down there again and film it secretly. Be warned that the last guy that got caught doing that (a german) got beaten with iron bars, was in the hospital for a long time looking like the elephant man. ( so be careful if you do it). the offenders, if I remember correctly, were not caught.

10

Excuse me, is this contact information current? There is some abuse going on in my neighborhood and I need to report it before I start abusing these asswipe people myself.

Unbelieveable how people can just not put themselves in an animals place-even for an instant. How would you like to be tied up all day on a one meter leash inches from your own excrement? How would you like it if somebody 50 times greater than you came over to smack you around every time you cried or whimpered.

11

Taiwan has animal protection laws? Wow! I never would have thunk it.

12

Amanda has left the TMIAH - I hate to say it but probably disillusioned. The new contact: Elle Jian, tmiah018XXX@XXXtmiah.tcg.gov.tw (remove the Xā€™s; the address she wrote down was actually ā€˜@tamih ā€¦ā€™, but Iā€™m guessing that was a ā€˜typoā€™. The phone number should be the same. Elle speaks English.

Good luck!

13

UPDATE on legislation changes:

[quote]Anyone caught abusing stray cats or dogs can be slapped with heavy fines or can be sentenced to a maximum one-year prison term, a Council of Agriculture (COA) official said Thursday in response to a spate of reports of animal abuse in recent weeks. Hsu Kuei-sen, director of the COAā€™s Animal Industry Department, pointed out that the Animal Protection Act prohibits maltreatment or abuse of animals, with violators facing fines ranging between NT$100,000 (US$3,030) and NT$1 million or sentences of up to a year.

Anyone who spots cases involving animal abuse can report them to city or county animal protection authorities, Hsu said, adding that if a case is considered a danger to public security, it should be reported to the closest police station.

[/quote]
From CNA

14

[quote=ā€œIconā€]UPDATE on legislation changes:

[quote]Anyone caught abusing stray cats or dogs can be slapped with heavy fines or can be sentenced to a maximum one-year prison term, a Council of Agriculture (COA) official said Thursday in response to a spate of reports of animal abuse in recent weeks. Hsu Kuei-sen, director of the COAā€™s Animal Industry Department, pointed out that the Animal Protection Act prohibits maltreatment or abuse of animals, with violators facing fines ranging between NT$100,000 (US$3,030) and NT$1 million or sentences of up to a year.

Anyone who spots cases involving animal abuse can report them to city or county animal protection authorities, Hsu said, adding that if a case is considered a danger to public security, it should be reported to the closest police station.

[/quote]
From CNA[/quote]
Not an update. Thatā€™s the existing legislation.

15

Reminder, then. :smiley:

16

[quote=ā€œcanucktyuktukā€]Excuse me, is this contact information current? There is some abuse going on in my neighborhood and I need to report it before I start abusing these asswipe people myself.

Unbelieveable how people can just not put themselves in an animals place-even for an instant. How would you like to be tied up all day on a one meter leash inches from your own excrement? How would you like it if somebody 50 times greater than you came over to smack you around every time you cried or whimpered.[/quote]

yeah report them, the dumb wankers. Stray dog will tell you if the number is the same.

I saw an old lady doing that to a pig at a betel nut stand before. But then a week later I saw her doing it to her kid! I guess she had it done to her when she was young too. Still bullet in between the eyes would stop the cycle of abuse perhaps!

17

Thereā€™s a cute golden retriever that has been tied to a tree nearly all summer. Itā€™s in the grounds of a restaurant that has a huge outdoor area, so itā€™s even more ironic / heartbreaking that the poor thing is just there looking lost and bewildered. Somehow it survived the intense heat and humidity of the summer but now the weather is changing. I live in a particularly rainy part of Taiwan and itā€™s been pouring non-stop for the last couple of days and the poor soul is still thereā€¦I canā€™t take this any longer, who should I call, what can I do. Thanks.

18

Call the TMIAH and ask them to put you in touch with their counterparts in your area. Get video and photographic evidence first, if possible.

19

I have to admit I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of abuse I see here.
Last week, I was out having a smoke on my balcony and I hear this guy yelling at his dog to come, over and over. I dip my head over and see that the dog is not leashed, and itā€™s a schnauzerā€¦probably the worst breed I can think of not to leash, lol. So Iā€™m watching this idiot trying to get his dog to stay with him as he walks, the dog finally comes to him and what does he do? He wacks it on the ass with a switch. Now Iā€™m just pissed :fume:

So forget for a second that hitting a dog is abusiveā€¦how fucking dumb is this guy? Heā€™s trying to teach the dog to come to him by hitting him? And he wonders why the dog wonā€™t come to him? And this is how he is trying to train his dog to be leashless?

So the dog comes back a second time, the guy tells him to sit, then he raises the switch, at which point I scream HEY loud enough that it echoes (Iā€™m sure the entire block heard me). I called him an idiot, then offered to come down and beat him with a stick (all in Chinese of course). The guy disappears fast enough so he doesnā€™t get beaten by the crazy foreigner, and his poor wife follows along.

I probably didnā€™t handle the situation well. I canā€™t imagine that I made that poor little dogā€™s life easier. He probably got home and smacked it around some more, or took it out on his wife or whatever. But in that kind of situation, I had nothing to report. I didnā€™t have time to take a picture, nor did I really have a way to know where this guy lived without following him.

Iā€™m just glad there were six floors of separation between us, otherwise, I probably would have taken his stick, smacked him a few times and then screamed ā€œguo lai, guo laiā€ā€¦and I probably would be facing deportation, lol.

What is the best thing to do in such a situation? I really have no idea. For me, quietly going down and following him or trying to take a picture wouldnā€™t work because I, admittedly, have a temperā€¦especially when it comes to this sort of thing.

20

While itā€™s not a response that I could responsibly promote, what you did probably will have a positive effect, as the guy will almost certainly think twice before hitting his dog again, especially in public.

The mistake heā€™s makingā€“hitting a dog that eventually follows his commandā€“is global, of course.