Taiwan NGOs Environmental Conference: 3 of 6 animal protection issues are related to stray dogs

Since 2004, Taiwan has co-organized the "NGO Environmental Conference" every year by environmental protection groups to discuss the most urgent issues that need to be addressed and resolved by the government. It was not until 2019 that a few animal protection groups joined and proposed major animal protection issues. The 2025 environmental conference will be held on March 20 and 21. Among the 52 issues, there are 6 animal protection issues, 3 of which are related to stray dogs, showing that the 140,000 homeless dogs are the top priority of animal protection activists.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, the number of stray dogs in Taiwan was 159,697 in 2022, and it dropped to 141,584 in 2024, indicating that TNR is an effective measure for sterilizing stray dogs. However, there are still incidents of stray dogs chasing cars and biting people from time to time, which has led to criticism of some caring people for regularly feeding stray dogs. Groups of dogs that go out together in the mountains and forests are even accused of infringing on the habitats and habits of wild animals. Therefore, how to make stray dogs no longer be the object of disgust has become a problem that some animal protection groups are trying their best to solve.

The three issues related to stray dogs are:

(1) Clearly set a KPI for the annual reduction of stray dogs

Although the sterilization strategy has led to a downward trend in the number of stray dogs, the rate of reduction does not meet public expectations. Therefore, animal protection groups have said that if the government does not improve its efficiency, it may shake the public's confidence in the government's ability to solve the problem. Animal protection groups also suggest that the performance of counties and cities be measured through public-private partnerships and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). The ideal performance target is to reduce the number of stray dogs by 20,000 to 30,000 each year starting this year, while the sterilization rate increases year by year. By 2028, there should be only 70,000 stray dogs left, with a sterilization rate of 85%.

(2) Community-based animal protection policies: Village heads and community citizen groups participate in animal protection policies

It is suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture provide subsidies and resources to village heads in accordance with the "community building" and "local revitalization" policies, so that they can become the implementers of animal protection policies and help promote sterilization, microchipping, vaccination, animal protection law advocacy and other activities. In the case of microchipping and pet registration, they are most familiar with community residents and affairs, and can also assist in conducting household pet surveys to accurately grasp the number of dogs raised and understand the distribution of stray dogs in the community, and even help relocate them.

(3) Dog welfare policies and public education to eliminate conflicts between humans and dogs

Since stray dogs cannot be eradicated in the short term, how to prevent dog bites is a problem that relevant departments must consider. According to the World Animal Health Organization (WOAH) in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, "The most effective way to reduce dog bites is to educate people on how to interact safely with dogs and to make dog training and management part of the owner's responsibility. Facts have proven that appropriate public education programs can effectively reduce dog bites and should be encouraged."

Therefore, not only should human-dog safety interaction education be included in school curriculum so that children can learn it early, but it must also be promoted to the general public in order to minimize conflict accidents.