Taichung to investigate after more than 30 pets die in house fire

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taichung's Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said it planned to open an investigation after more than 30 dogs and cats died in a fire Saturday night in a three-story townhouse in the city's Longjing District.

The Taichung City Fire Bureau said it received a call about a fire at the 70-square-meter rented townhouse just before 10 p.m., and dispatched 13 firetrucks and 32 firefighters to the scene.

After extinguishing the fire at 10:31 p.m., firefighters discovered that more than 40 dogs and cats were being kept inside the building, of which only eight were rescued alive, the fire bureau said.

On Sunday, Taichung's Animal Protection Office sent personnel to inspect the townhouse, but had been unable to enter, as the Fire Bureau was still investigating how the blaze began, according to the city's Agriculture Bureau.

City officials have also spoken with the owner of the animals, who was planning to contact a pet funeral services company to have the dead dogs and cats taken to be cremated, the Agriculture Bureau said.

According to the bureau, the owner of the animals is a private citizen and "did not own more than the maximum number" of pets allowed under the law, though it did not specify what the maximum was for a building the size of the townhouse.

An investigation will nevertheless be conducted to determine whether any animal protection laws were violated, it said.