A protester holds a picture of dead dogs during a demonstration in front of the Taiwan government's agriculture council, in Taipei, in 2013 (AFP Photo\/SAM YEH) <\/p>\n
Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan has banned euthanising animals in shelters, which follows the tragic suicide last year of a vet burdened with the task of putting down animals. <\/p>\n
The law came into effect Saturday, two years after it was passed by parliament -- a period meant to prepare shelters for the ban. <\/p>\n
But during the wait, animal lover Chien Chih-cheng took her own life with euthanasia drugs, reportedly upset at having to kill animals at the shelter she worked at. <\/p>\n
Reports at the time said Chien was called a \"butcher\" by activists. <\/p>\n
Her death sparked calls for authorities to improve conditions for animals and staff at shelters. <\/p>\n
An animal welfare group, Life Conservationist Association, estimated more than 1.2 million animals not adopted from shelters have been put down since 1999. <\/p>\n
\"Animal protection in Taiwan has moved towards a new milestone,\" the association's executive director Ho Tsung-hsun said in a statement. <\/p>\n
But Taiwan's Council of Agriculture warned the ban would lead to a deterioration in the quality of shelters through a surging intake or it may discourage the capture of strays. <\/p>\n
\"It's impossible for there to be no problems,\" said Wang Chung-shu, deputy chief of the animal husbandry department, according to The China Times. <\/p>\n
He said Taiwan's ban was \"quite idealised\", adding that manpower was a problem because the vet's suicide had had a \"chilling effect\" on the sector, according to the report. <\/p>\n
Even before the legislation, the number of animals being put down had been steadily declining. <\/p>\n
Last year, 12.38 percent of the 64,276 animals in public shelters were euthanised, according to official statistics. <\/p>\n
That compares with 94,741 animals in shelters in 2014, of which 26.45 percent were put down. <\/p>\n
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Taiwan bans euthanasia of stray animals - Yahoo - Yahoo News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A protester holds a picture of dead dogs during a demonstration in front of the Taiwan government's agriculture council, in Taipei, in 2013 (AFP Photo\/SAM YEH) Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan has banned euthanising animals in shelters, which follows the tragic suicide last year of a vet burdened with the task of putting down animals. The law came into effect Saturday, two years after it was passed by parliament -- a period meant to prepare shelters for the ban. Continue reading