PENALTIES FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY RAISED|動保法修正 殺害動物刑責加重.禁汽機車遛寵物

There have been widespread cases of cat and dog abuses and in 2016 there was a public drive for signatures to demand amendments to the Animal Protection Act, hoping to impose heavier penalties. On April 11th, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of an amendment, which stipulates that the sentence for those who kill or hurt animals on purpose is to be raised from up to 1 year to up to 2 years. Also, owners will face heavy fines if they walk their pets with cars or motorcycles, and the public will be formally banned from eating or possessing cat or dog carcasses . French woman Wang Hsien-ju is the person who reported a cat killer, an overseas student at NTU named Chan Ho-yeung who strangled a stray cat named "Big Orange." For the past 10 years, Wang Hsien-ju cared for stray animals. She was surprised and happy to learn of the passage of the amendment to the Animal Protection Act in that the sentence for killing or hurting animals is raised from under 1 year to under 2 years. ==WANG HSIEN-JU French resident== At last, we have a tool. Indeed, we parent volunteers could only care for animals on the road and we could do nothing about the law. But now we have laws (a heavier penalty), we can't say police and the laws are of no use. That the student abused stray cats over and over again provoked public outrage. In the first trial, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison, combined with a fine of NT$350,000. According to the revision, however, he would be sentenced to 3 years in prison as a repeat offender. The civil groups advocating for the revision said there were 100 cases of animal abuse in the past 8 years, but only 1 person was put in jail. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the sentence. ==PAN HAN-CHIANG Sec-Gen., Tree Party== (In the past) a sentence of 3 to 4 months was given at most, but mostly a sentence of 30 or 50 days was given. That is to say, if a day is commutable to NT$1,000, then 1 or 2 moths are commutable to NT$30,000 or NT$60,000 and everything is fine. The Legislative Yuan passed the draft amendment to the Animal Protection Act after its third reading, raising the sentence for those who killing animals on purpose and a combined fine from NT$200,000 to NT$2 million. A repeated offender is subject to 1 to 5 years in prison, with a combined fine of NT$500,000 to NT$5 million. Besides, the owners will not be allowed to pull cats or dogs with cars or motorcycles in the future. ==CHIANG WEN-CHUAN Section Chief, COA Dept. Animal Husbandry == The owners didn't take some animals' conditions into account. They dragged and pulled the animals half way in the process of traction. There is a new penalty for those who consume certain types of animals in the amendment. Not only slaughter or sale of meat is punished, but the purchase and consumption of cat and dog meat and their internal organs is forbidden. Possession of carcasses for this purpose is also banned. The revision raises the bar for animal protection in Taiwan. TRANSLATED BY：BRYANT CHANG 虐貓虐狗事件頻傳，去年有民眾連署要求修正動保法加重處罰。今天立法院三讀通過部分條文，將來故意殺害、傷害動物的刑責，從一年以下有期徒刑，提高到兩年以下；另外修法之後，飼主也不得以汽機車牽引寵物，否則最重罰1萬5千元。此，以前只規定，貓肉、狗肉不得宰殺、販賣，修正案通過後，未來民眾也不得食用或持有屠體。 眼前法籍女士王嫻如，就是台大僑生陳皓揚虐殺流浪貓「大橘子」的報案人。十年來，王嫻如不停歇地前來照護流浪動物，聽聞動保法修正通過，加重故意殺害、傷害動物刑責，從原本的一年以下有期徒刑，提高至兩年以下，王嫻如又驚又喜。 ==法籍女士 王嫻如== 終於 終於有一個工具 的確我們愛心媽媽 （只能)在馬路上面 有的時候在法律上面 我們沒有辦法管 可是現在有法律(加重刑責) 我們不可以說沒有 不可以說警察先生沒有用 法律沒有用 台大僑生陳皓揚接連虐貓案，引起公憤，一審陳皓揚被判刑10個月、併科罰金35萬元，但若是依照新法，可能會因為累犯被判三年有期徒刑。推動修法的民間團體表示，過去八年間，虐待動物案件有上百多件，卻只有一件入監服刑，所以刑責有提高的必要。 ==樹人會秘書長 潘翰疆== （往例)大概就是 最多判到三、四個月 最少大概都是三、五十天為大宗 那等於說大概 大概如果說一天易科一千塊的話 一個月大概 一、兩個月大概就是(易科)三萬、六萬 就可以了事 立院11號三讀通過動保法修正草案，提高故意殺害動物者刑責，併科罰金也提高至20到200萬元，針對累犯者，處一年以上五年以下有期徒刑，併科50到500萬元罰金；此外，飼主未來也不能以汽機車牽引動物遛貓、遛狗。 == 農委會畜牧處動保科科長 江文全== 飼主沒有考慮到動物的一些狀況 有些變成在牽引過程中 有點半拖半拉的方式在做一個行進 而修正法案也新增對「食用者」的處罰，不只宰殺、販售要罰，未來貓肉、狗肉和內臟，也被禁止購買、食用，且不得持有屠體。讓台灣的動物保護法令，再往前邁進一步。 記者 黃怡菁 郭俊麟 台北報導