New Taipei City wins six first-place awards in animal protection assessments across Taiwan; thanks to the World Dog Alliance for its support.

The New Taipei City Animal Protection Office won six major awards in the Ministry of Agriculture's annual evaluation. The office staff happily presented the trophies to New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi.

Taiwan's animal protection administrative system adopts a governance model of "central planning and local implementation." The Ministry of Agriculture sets animal protection policies, regulations, and evaluation standards, while local governments are responsible for frontline implementation, including animal shelter, stray dog and cat management, handling animal protection cases, pet industry management, life education promotion, and disease prevention. These efforts are subject to annual evaluations to assess their effectiveness. In the Ministry of Agriculture's latest nationwide animal protection evaluation results, New Taipei City won six first-place rankings, becoming the most prominent animal protection model city.

New Taipei City achieved six first-place rankings across Taiwan, covering three core areas. In terms of overall performance, New Taipei City simultaneously won first place in "Animal Shelter and Control Services Evaluation," "Animal Protection Services Evaluation," and "Pet Management Services Evaluation." Furthermore, in terms of specific achievements, it received awards for "Best Adoption Rate Increase," "Best Dog Population Management Effectiveness," and "Best Penalty Rate Increase." This demonstrates that New Taipei City not only leads in innovative planning but also demonstrates comprehensive and stable results in practical implementation, including shelter quality, adoption promotion, source management, and enforcement efficiency.

This achievement is no accident, but the result of years of hard work. New Taipei City has long invested in improving animal shelters, sterilizing dogs and cats, promoting adoption programs, animal protection education, and inter-departmental cooperation, making animal protection no longer just the work of a single agency, but gradually becoming part of urban governance. Especially in law enforcement, the police's proactive handling and transfer of animal protection cases reflects that animal protection concepts have gradually been integrated into the public governance system.

It is worth noting that at the awards ceremony held on May 13, the New Taipei City Government publicly thanked 19 groups and individuals who have long assisted in animal protection work. These included four animal groups such as the World Dog Alliance (WDA), neighborhood chiefs and businesses that established adoption cabins, and police officers who have long assisted in investigating cases.

The New Taipei City Government, which won six major awards, will receive a certificate of appreciation from Mayor Hou You-yi on May 13, 2026, from the World Dog Federation, one of the reasons being its active commitment to life education in schools.

In a letter of appreciation presented to the World Dog Alliance, the New Taipei City Government stated: "You have made significant contributions to animal protection practices, life education and international advocacy, and the improvement of animal welfare through your active involvement."

This affirmation is particularly meaningful because the World Dog Alliance has not only been promoting legislation to ban the eating of dogs and cats internationally for many years, but has also been paying close attention to the progress of animal protection policies in Taiwan. Through advocacy, policy dialogue, life education, and international experience exchange, it has injected more forward-looking vision into the animal protection environment in Taiwan.

From improving the quality of animal shelters and promoting adoption culture to establishing governance thinking that is more in line with modern animal welfare standards, the participation of NGOs is often a significant boost to local government reforms. Only when the central government has policy direction, local governments have the ability to implement it, and NGOs continue to monitor, advocate, and cooperate, can the system truly change.

For the World Dog Alliance, this is not just an honor, but also a reminder of responsibility. The real goal is not just for a single city to win an award, but to inspire more cities to move forward and for more animals to benefit. As more cities are willing to commit to change, Taiwan's accumulated experience in animal welfare governance will become an important reference for promoting animal welfare progress in Asia.