2 migrant workers arrested on suspicion of selling dog meat in Hsinchu

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) The Hsinchu County government on Friday announced the arrests of two undocumented Vietnamese migrant workers for allegedly selling suspected dog meat.

In a written statement, the local government said that on Thursday, the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, together with authorities from the county's Sanmin Police Station, arrested two individuals who were selling unidentified meats in Zhubei City.

They were identified as undocumented migrant workers from Vietnam, the statement said, without specifying their gender.

The statement added that police officers and animal protection officials found the two individuals in possession of 43 kilograms of dissected animal meat of unknown origin.

According to the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, their initial investigation led them to suspect that 11.8 kg were dog meat, 3.1 kg masked palm civets, 5.2 kg mountain boars, and 3.1 kg were meat from animals that are suspected to be from the sheep or goat family.

The rest of the discovered meat was offal of unknown animals, the office said, adding that detailed examinations will be conducted on the meats to determine the specific species of each animal.

Due to the immigration status of the two arrested individuals, they were taken into police custody, the office said. The Zhubei Precinct will subsequently refer the case to the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office, it added.

The office implored people to refrain from purchasing unknown meats to curb the sale of such products through a lack of demand.