(FWA 2026/1/8)Taiwan proposes increasing penalties for killing dogs and cats. Recently, there have been incidents of unaccounted-for migrant workers killing stray cats and even hunting protected species like leopard cats with homemade shotguns to sell the meat for profit. Illegal activities show signs of becoming organized. Several legislators have proposed 38 versions of amendments to the Animal Protection Act, some of which include increasing penalties for killing animals. Relevant drafts were reviewed in the Legislative Yuan last December. The Executive Yuan is also expected to pass the official version of the draft amendment on January 8. The penalty for killing animals is proposed to be a minimum of 6 months in prison, with the upper limit raised to 5 years, and further increases for serious offenses.
Last year, there were multiple cases of migrant workers illegally killing dogs, cats, and protected animals, including gem-faced civets, wild boars, Reeves’s muntjacs, and sambar deer. When the Legislative Yuan scheduled the review of draft amendments to the Animal Protection Act in December, Legislator Yang Chiung-ying stated that in the vast majority of animal torture and killing cases, the prison sentences were less than six months. She requested the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to strengthen cross-departmental immediate reporting and investigation with police units and the National Immigration Agency regarding migrant worker management, social security, and wildlife conservation. Du Wen-zhen, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, responded that relevant laws and regulations would be included in migrant worker orientation training in the future, and suggestions regarding sentencing would be raised in the judicial liaison platform.
Current Penalty for Illegal Killing: Up to 2 Years in Prison
Yang Chiung-ying mentioned that between 2014 and 2021, 96% of animal torture and killing cases resulted in sentences of less than half a year, showing that the law is overly lenient. This not only challenges the bottom line of animal protection and hurts public sentiment but the illegal meat supply chain also poses a threat to domestic epidemic prevention.
Du Wen-zhen stated that in addition to educating migrant workers before entry not to illegally bring animals or plants into the country, animal protection-related content will be added in the future. Both immigrants and migrant workers coming to Taiwan must abide by our country’s laws.
Current Articles 6 and 12, Paragraph 3 of the Animal Protection Act stipulate that no one may harass, abuse, or injure animals, nor may they slaughter dogs or cats, or sell, purchase, eat, or possess their carcasses, internal organs, or food containing their ingredients. Offenders who illegally slaughter animals may be sentenced to up to 2 years in prison or detention, and fined between NT$200,000 and NT$2,000,000 under Article 25. Furthermore, under Article 25-1, those who use drugs or firearms causing the death of multiple animals in serious circumstances may be sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison and fined between NT$500,000 and NT$5,000,000.
Those who sell, purchase, eat, or possess carcasses, internal organs, or food containing ingredients of dogs or cats shall be fined between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000 under Article 27, Item 6, and their names, photos, and illegal facts may be published.
Consensus on Heaviest Penalties
The Ministry of Agriculture explained that the draft amendment to the Animal Protection Act, drafted by the Ministry, consists of 28 articles, focusing on strengthening owner responsibility, improving shelter management, enhancing animal protection, empowering animal protection inspectors, and managing the pet industry. The draft has been reviewed by the Executive Yuan, incorporating legislators’ proposals into the version discussed at the administrative meeting. This includes increasing the penalty for killing or intentionally injuring animals in Article 25, and specifying that using violence or other forms of abuse resulting in animal death under serious circumstances will result in aggravated punishment.
The current Article 25-1 stipulates that animal injury cases involving the use of drugs or firearms are premised on “multiple” deaths. The versions proposed by several legislators this time deleted this condition and added that violence or other forms of abuse should be heavily punished, increasing the sentence to up to 3 years. Du Wen-zhen expressed agreement with the direction of the amendment and emphasized that abusive behavior is multi-faceted and should be judged by the act itself: “Even if it is just one animal, it is harm.”
It is understood that the Executive Yuan expects to pass the draft amendment to the Animal Protection Act on January 8. For killing or intentionally injuring animals resulting in severe limb disability or loss of function of important organs, the penalty will be increased to a prison term of 6 months to 5 years, along with a fine of NT$300,000 to NT$3,000,000. Those who use drugs, firearms, violence, or other forms of abuse resulting in animal death under serious circumstances will have their sentences increased by up to one-half.
