TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Activists will march in Taipei City Sunday (Feb. 20) to demand animal rights be included in the Constitution.

The Legislative Yuan has set up a committee paving the way for constitutional amendments, but most of the proposals focus on traditional political issues such as the organization of referendums and mergers of cities and counties.

Organizers of the march expect at least 1,000 participants despite predictions of cold and wet weather, CNA reported Saturday (Feb. 19). More than 70 animal rights, social, and student groups are expected to convene in front of the Presidential Office Building in the early afternoon for a short walk to the Legislative Yuan and back.

Even though Taiwan ratified an animal protection law in 1998, only the inclusion of animal rights in the Constitution will be effective, the activists said. The wide range of laws related to animal welfare has made it difficult to enforce adequate protection measures, they added, and mistreatment of pets and other animals is still too common.

The organizers of Sunday’s march also pointed at the fact that eight other countries, ranging from Germany and India to Russia, have already written animal rights into their Constitution, while South Korea started similar revisions in 2017.