It’s time to step up homeless dog control

This situation was highlighted again recently by mysterious attacks on goats at a farm in Linkou, Taipei County.

Taipei County Government officials have caught two homeless dogs that allegedly are responsible for the death of the goats.

A black dog was caught Tuesday morning in a cage-trap at the Linkou goat farm, owned by a man surnamed Hung, following the capture of a white stray nabbed the previous day at the farm.

The attacks on the goats were first reported by an Indonesian laborer, who said she saw a tiger attacking the goats kept by her boss. The worker insisted it was a tiger, although her employer told her it was unlikely.

The foreign laborer’s description of the event received attention from county government authorities, who launched a large-scale search for the attacker.

The search did not lead to any discovery. Experts who studied the scene of the incident reported that the attacker was more probably a large dog.

Professor Hsia Liang-chou, a specialist in veterinary medicine and animal husbandry, concluded that the fierce animal or animals that killed the goats in Linkou are homeless dogs.

Hsia is director of the animal husbandry and veterinary medicine division of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) in the southern county of Pingtung. The professor, who is also head of the NPUST-operated stray dog adoption center, indicated that it’s not unusual to see stray dogs attack other animals.

Some canines that have wandered from their masters may become aggressive, but later generation strays are much more violent and wolfish than those which were once pets, Hsia said, citing a case that occurred in Pingtung years ago in which more than 10 mid-sized hogs and dozens of goats were slaughtered by stray dogs in a single night.

According to the professor, the most aggressive stray dogs are those of later generations. While attempting to attack farm animals, canines will usually rally others of their kind before striking, he said.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based Chinese forensic scientist Henry Lee suggested hair or bite wounds left on the mauled goats would provide evidence revealing the species of the animals responsible for the Linkou attacks.

Lee made the suggestion in response to media inquiries during his visit to the central county of Changhua, where he was invited to deliver a speech to local police.

The homeless dogs issue attracted media attention earlier when an local English teacher concerned about the fate of stray dogs sought the help of Taiwan’s wealthiest businessman.

The teacher, surnamed Chia, got down on her knees at the doorsteps of Terry Gou’s Hon Hai Precision Industrial Co. to gain the tycoon’s attention. She requested that Gou provide financial support for her cause of giving shelter to all homeless dogs. Media reports of her appeal received a prompt response from Gou, who was in Beijing at the time. Gou reportedly promised to help.

The government should play the central role in tackling the homeless dogs program, which gets more serious every day. The animals are a danger not only to other domestic animals but also to humans. Old people and children could be injured or even killed by homeless dogs.

According to statistics from the Commission of Agricultural Development under the Cabinet, the island’s homeless canine population is as large as 179,000. Commission officials said adopting these dogs would cost too much of taxpayers’ money.

The officials indicate further that it is unavoidable to kill some of these animals to reduce their number, which is a practice followed in other advanced countries.

Pet lovers from home and abroad have often protested the way homeless dogs are dealt with in Taiwan, alleging that the government here treats captured dogs in an extremely inhumane manner.

Implanting digital chips into dogs may be a more ideal way to reduce the number of homeless dogs. And establishing more halfway centers for stray dogs is another move to be made.

Terry Gou’s promise to help with the issue is laudable. Other industrialists should chip in, too. Dogs are lovable animals, but when too many of them roam around aimlessly, it creates a problem that must not be ignored.

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