Decision to euthanise 154 cats found in smuggling operation sparks outrage in Taiwan

Decision to euthanise 154 cats found in smuggling operation sparks outrage in pet-loving Taiwan.

Shockingly authorities in Taiwan made the decision to euthanise over 150 cats that had been discovered as part of a smuggling operation. The public outcry from the pet loving country has seen people call for changes to the law and for penalties to be increased too.

The cats were discovered when a fishing vessel from China was intercepted by coastguards on Thursday and after Covid screening was carried out officials discovered 62 cages on board. Inside the cages were 152 cats, including breeds such as Russian Blue, Ragdoll, Persian American Shorthair, and British Shorthair.

Sadly, on Saturday, August 21 all of the animals were put down. The shocking event coincided withInternational Homeless Animals Day. The Taiwanese government maintains that the cats posed a biosecurity risk and needed to be put to sleep.

One animal rescue agency even offered to pay the costs to quarantine the animals and has hit back at the government’s decision.

“Animals are innocent. There are rules about border regulations, but they can actually check whether animals are sick or not,” said a spokesperson for the Taiwan Animal Emergency Rescue.

“I understand the importance of laws and regulations for the domestic ecology, but… I hope that the law can be amended and treat these lives in a more humane way.”

The government have defended the decision and Chen Chi-chung, head of the government’s agriculture council said: “Even after quarantine, these cats could still carry … diseases due to the long latency periods of viruses, which could pose a major threat to pets and farm animals in Taiwan,” as reported the Taipei Times.

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