Cabinet seeks to tighten penalties on pet abandonment, animal abuse

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) The Cabinet on Thursday unveiled draft revisions to the Animal Protection Act that seek to tighten regulations on when pet owners can place their pets in shelters and raise the maximum fine for abandoning animals to NT$1 million (US$31,697).

One draft provision states that pet owners may place animals in certified shelters only after meeting "certain conditions" to relinquish ownership, with unauthorized placement classified as abandonment. The conditions will be defined by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in supplementary rules if the Legislature approves the proposed amendment.

In addition, the amendment states that if an animal shelter asks an owner to reclaim an animal, the owner must do so within seven days or be deemed to have abandoned the animal, in which case they face a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million -- up from the current penalty of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.

Pet owners who lose a microchipped animal have five days to report to local authorities, after which they are also deemed to have abandoned the animal, another revision stipulates.

A different revision seeks to more clearly define when a pet can be euthanized while in a shelter.

In particular, the revision replaces the original wording "sick beyond cure," found in the conditions for when an animal can be put down, with "in a physical condition in which it cannot eat, drink or excrete unaided."

Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全), head of the MOA's Department of Animal Welfare, said at a Cabinet briefing on Thursday that this removes any ambiguity in veterinarian decision-making on when to euthanize an animal.

Another revision seeks to raise the fine for disabling an animal or killing dogs, cats or other animals specified by the MOA, from NT$200,000 - NT$2 million to NT$300,000 - NT$3 million, and the jail term from up to two years to between six months and five years.

In severe cases of animal killings involving the use of firearms, drugs, violence or other means of torture, the prison term will be extended by a factor of 1.5, according to the proposal.

According to the proposed amendment, pet owners must be adults, and in cases where the animal belongs to a minor, their legal representatives, conservators, or care provider shall be deemed the pet owner.