TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Pingtung County’s Animal Disease Control Center on Friday confirmed its first rabies-positive ferret-badger of 2026 after a wild animal tested positive in Chunri Township on Feb. 26.
Chunri is an Indigenous township on the county’s eastern edge near the Central Mountain Range that borders Taitung County.
Residents in Chunri and nearby areas are encouraged to bring in their pets for vaccination, UDN reported. The county’s Animal Disease Control Center and Chunri Township Office will provide free rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats at the community center on March 13 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Officials said Taiwan’s Animal Infectious Disease Control Act requires owners to vaccinate dogs, cats, and carnivorous mammals such as ferrets and raccoons against rabies every year. Violators may face fines ranging from NT$30,000 (US$940) to NT$150,000.
Authorities said rabies is a zoonotic disease with a fatality rate close to 100% once symptoms appear. In Taiwan, cases are currently limited to wild animals such as ferret-badgers and masked palm civets, CNA reported.
Officials urged residents to follow the “two noes and one must” guideline: do not approach wild animals, do not abandon pets, and ensure pets receive annual rabies vaccinations.
