March for Taiwan's wildlife conservation to be held in Taipei

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) A march calling on Taiwanese society to safeguard the country's wildlife and ecological sustainability by reining in stray animals will be held in Taipei on Sunday, according to the event's organizer, Taiwan Walk for Wildlife (TWW).

The 2024 Walk for Wildlife is hoping to improve the management and reduction of stray dogs and cats, strengthen the management of stray dogs in ecological hotspots, and raise public awareness of wildlife conservation, said Wu Yi-ta (吳奕達), the march's general coordinator, at a press conference on Friday.

He said the government has invested over NT$300 million (US$9.32 million) in managing and reducing stray animals to date, but data from the past few years show that the number of stray dogs continues to rise, with 159,697 recorded in 2022.

"Stray cats also cause significant damage to the environment, yet there is no investigative data on them in Taiwan," Wu added.

The increasing number of stray animals poses a significant threat to wildlife, especially endangered species in ecological hotspots, Wu said, citing the example that around 25 percent of leopard cats released into the wild eventually die due to attacks by dogs.

In terms of public awareness of wildlife conservation, TWW founder Lee Tsung-chen (李宗宸) said domestic dogs and cats have been listed as invasive species in Taiwan since 2022, but none of the textbooks in Taiwan address their impact on the ecological environment.

"We hope that by including such examples in the school curriculum, members of society will understand the ecological damage that can result from abandoning dogs and cats," he said.

Lee hoped this idea can be adopted to better educate the public and help prevent pet abandonment or the release of pets into the wild, ultimately leading to more effective wildlife protection.

Following the march's debut in 2023 that drew around 4,000 people, Wu told CNA that TWW expects more people to join the event this year, as there is "growing public attention" on issues related to wildlife conservation.

He also hopes it will have more of an impact than the first march last year, which focused on the conflict between invasive species -- primarily domestic dogs and cats -- and wildlife.

The Ministry of Agriculture responded to that march by launching a three-month pilot project aimed at protecting leopard cats by relocating stray dogs from ecological hotspots, but the TWW said it had disappointing results.

Sunday's march will start at 1:30 p.m. outside the Legislative Yuan, loop around nearby streets, and return by 2:30 p.m.

It will feature a conservation-themed market, and exhibitions and talks will be held outside the Legislative Yuan throughout the afternoon, according to the organizer.