Page 52 - 2019 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

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Gestation: Enjoying the richness of the land Unit Three: Improving the Basic Environment
viscera. Such products enhance the value- added reuse of residual agricultural materials. In addition, the COA completed construction of 45 demonstration sites for items that included mushrooms, rice straw, biochar, aquaponics, and biogas power generation. We encouraged the reuse of about 30,000 tons of residual agricultural materials, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 33,000 metric tons.
Also, to promote operating models for the agricultural circular economy and attain the goal of sustainable use of resources, the COA set up 12 regional circular agriculture demonstration zones of ten hectares or more. These included the Ruanqiao Community in Hsinchu, the Longdong organic community in Miaoli, the Taichung organic seed (seedling) demonstration nursery, the TaiSan Farm in Changhua, the Shennong organic farm in Nantou, the Antique Assam Tea Farm at Sun Moon Lake in Nantou, the Bliss and Wisdom Mayuan farm, the TaiKang organic special zone in Tainan, the Ming Chuan Farm in Pingtung, the Toucheng Leisure Farm in Yilan, the Chi-Lai Green Land Farm in Hualien, and the Zhiben organic special zone in Taitung. These demonstration zones cover a total of 380 hectares. By introducing existing circular agriculture technology and developing new technology, the COA has enabled these farms to attain a reuse rate of 50% for agricultural resources and materials, raising overall earnings by 5%. The COA also arranged for ten demonstration zone on-site observation activities to display new thinking about circular agriculture and demonstrate superior industrial applications.
7. Putting Animal Protection into Practice
(1) Source management of dogs and cats
As of the end of 2019, there were 212,068 newly registered dogs across the country, with the registration rate and the neutering
rate for dogs and cats at 68.13% and 62.96% respectively. The COA, working with the Ministry of the Interior, completed domicile registration for pets, with updating of data in 2,691,176 cases between September of 2017 and the end of 2019. The COA also worked to guide owners to take lifelong responsibility for their pets and put an end to abandonment of dogs. Moreover, we implemented a management mechanism for dogs used for breeding by specified pet businesses, and in 2019, we investigated 25,504 cases of illegal breeding or buying and selling of dogs, handing out administrative punishments in 74 cases. In addition, in 2019 we renovated the pet registration management system, simplifying operating procedures for the system and raising administrative efficiency. The government also amended five regulations related to the "Animal Protection Act," thereby (i) putting into effect the management of performing animal businesses and protection of performing animals; (ii) strengthening fines for owners who fail to take responsibility for their pets; and (iii) strengthening nationwide education in animal protection.
(2) Adopting comprehensive shelter management measures for stray dogs
◆ Reducing the number of stray dogs from the source
Management of stray animals in Taiwan is based on the three major principles of legislation, education, and neutering. The COA has worked to instill the principle of lifelong responsibility for pets, to halt the abandonment of pets, and to control dog and cat reproduction, thereby reducing the number of stray dogs from the source. In addition, to protect the personal safety and assets of citizens, cases of catching stray dogs which have been reported by citizens are prioritized according to the level of public risk; the captured animals are placed in a shelter and citizens are actively encouraged to adopt them.