Animal rights groups call for ban on keeping meerkats as pets

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Two animal rights groups issued an online statement Tuesday criticizing the Department of Animal Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture for seeking to conditionally allow meerkats as pets, urging a total ban instead.

The Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan released the statement in response to the department's inclusion of meerkats to its "grey list" after an exotic pets regulation meeting on Aug. 6 and on the eve of another meeting to discuss the issue.

Currently, Taiwan's law only regulates the import and quarantine of meerkats, but once placed on the grey list, they can be legally kept, bred and traded under a set of enforceable provisions.

The groups warned that once the animals can be legally kept, popularity from films and animation could drive meerkat demand, fueling illegal trade and poor care, potentially causing another "environmental catastrophe" like Taiwan's green iguana invasion.

They also suggested that while moving toward a total ban, the department should still require current owners to declare their animals, ban breeding and trading, strengthen border control and crack down on illegal sales to prevent an increase in the number of meerkats in Taiwan, while raising awareness of the responsibilities that come with having an exotic pet.

Meerkats are highly social, non-domesticated animals unsuitable for households, the groups said, adding that cases have shown improper care to cause distress, aggression, or self-harm in meerkats, posing risks to themselves, the owners and the environment if they escape.

Several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal, ban private meerkat ownership, as do the United States including Florida, Nevada, Illinois and Kentucky, they said.

In response, the department's Director General Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said strict ownership conditions and registration will be enforced.

Citing estimates from an owners' group, he said 1,000-2,000 meerkats are kept nationwide, excluding zoos, and warned that a total ban could "drive ownership underground and complicate management."