TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The animal rights advocacy organization PETA said Thursday (Oct. 24) that a proposal for amendments to Taiwan’s Animal Protection Act will soon be introduced in the Legislative Yuan.
The press release says that Taiwan’s current legal framework for the protection of animals is outdated and “woefully deficient.” According to PETA, the country’s Animal Protection Act, introduced in 1998 and later amended in 2021, does not meet international standards.
PETA’s main concerns with Taiwan’s laws are the lack of oversight and recourse when it comes to organizations using animals for breeding and experimentation. The organization charges that agencies tasked with investigating abuses and enforcing regulations in Taiwan are “devoid of any real power” to help animals in laboratories or breeding programs.
In what may be a major overhaul of Taiwan’s Animal Protection Act, a new amendment has been drafted with input from PETA for Taiwan lawmakers to consider.
According to the press release, the new amendments will make the capture of wild animals for use in labs illegal, prohibit student experiments on animals in schools through high school, and expand existing animal protection laws to cover animals used in breeding programs.
Other items listed for the amendment would make lab inspection reports available to the public, mandate the use of non-animal methods for lab experiments where possible, and require laboratories using animals for experiments to employ a veterinarian.
In other news related to animal rights, Taiwan recently announced a ban on performances by non-domesticated animals and introduced a new licensing mechanism for any business that hopes to display wild animals for the public. The measures will make Taiwan one of 13 nations that have outlawed captive animal performances.