The city councilor's office has set up a "Love Adoption Inn," the first of its kind in Taiwan!

Taiwan’s first ‘Cat Adoption Centre’ to feature a city councillor’s service office was officially opened on 5 March 2026. New Taipei City Councillor Dai Xiangyi (in white) posed for a photo with local ward chiefs, animal welfare groups and cat lovers who had gathered to offer their congratulations, mimicking ‘cat paws’. Courtesy of the New Taipei City Animal Protection Office

In 2025, the World Canine Organization, together with its animal protection allies, held the "National County and City Councilors' Animal Protection Contribution Award." Among the 23 award-winning councilors, many had participated in stray animal adoption events or helped with the aftermath of roadkill. Recently, New Taipei City Councilor Tai Hsiang-yi went a step further, setting a precedent by establishing a regular animal adoption shelter in her office, making it a halfway house for stray animals.

The first cats to move into the service center were two stray cats who had been inseparable from the animal shelter. The New Taipei City Animal Protection Office specially provided them with a warm-style wooden cat house. On the opening day (March 5), the two cats remained calm in front of visitors and spotlights, showing that they had adapted to their new home.

Dai Xiangyi, who is concerned about animal welfare, has adopted four stray cats since 2022 and named them "Doupi", "Rousong", "Heidou" and "Roubao". She deeply understands the close feeling of being a family member with her pets. She also made an agreement with Yang Shufang, director of the New Taipei City Animal Protection Office, to make room in the front yard of the service center to add a dog shelter.

Lorraine Lu, the Taiwan representative of the World Dog Alliance (WDA) who attended the event to offer her congratulations, said she was pleased to see Councilor Tai take the lead in implementing animal welfare through action and hoped that more county and city councilors would follow suit and solve the problems of sheltering and adopting stray cats and dogs through public-private partnerships.

In recent years, the New Taipei City Animal Protection Office has promoted a community-based animal adoption mechanism, setting up "Furry Baby Adoption Stations" in various locations to allow residents to interact with dogs and cats available for adoption in their communities, increasing adoption opportunities and raising animal protection awareness. According to statistics from the Animal Protection Office, 110 "Furry Baby Adoption Stations" have been established so far, 22 of which are located in neighborhood chief offices. A total of 8,851 dogs and cats have been successfully adopted, equivalent to the capacity of more than ten animal shelters.

This model has thus gained recognition from animal protection groups, who hope that with the assistance of village chiefs, community-based adoption centers can be widely established so that more people can see and adopt stray animals. This will allow them to work with the government to reduce the number of stray animals, gradually build a more complete animal protection network, and move towards the goal of a city where humans and animals coexist harmoniously.

These spacious, beautifully crafted wooden cat shelters will become standard fixtures at the ‘Furry Friends’ adoption centre.