(New Taipei City News) International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR) celebrates International Homeless Animals’ Day (IHAD) every year on the third Saturday of August. More than 50 national animal protection societies worldwide publicize stray animal protection on this special day. Therefore, the New Taipei City Government Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office took this opportunity to promote spaying and neutering, proper pet care and responsible pet ownership, avoiding domestic pets from being street animals to decrease the stray animal population towards the goal of zero-abandonment.     
 
International Homeless Animal Day is the name of the day in English. The purpose of celebrating this day is to avoid pets from being homeless, most importantly, to enforce RCA problem management and promote zero-abandonment and the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office has provided Pet Ownership Authentication Cards accordingly since 2016.Besides online learning, owners can get the cards in diverse and fun ways by personally visiting the New Taipei City Pet Education Campus in Banqiao, playing experience games, attending workshops, etc. The Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office has offered pet owners some benefits. The card holders can get some discount in pet friendly shops, pet spaying and neutering subsidy if their households are registered in New Taipei City, free chips for pets, free rabies vaccine, free pet registration, help with burning animal bodies etc. 32,157 pieces of cards had been issued and 1204 pet owners had been subsidized before July 2020. The purpose is to promote responsible pet ownership, avoid abandonment, enhance the ideas about proper pet care, and set up animal adoption stalls for providing street animals with shelters.
 
To protect the homeless animals on streets, the New Taipei City government first founded animal rescue center in 2018, which opens 24/7. If animals get injured or trapped, please dial (02)2959-6353, the emergency phone number, which allows a caller to contact the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office for immediate assistance provided by a specially-assigned person 24/7. Injured or trapped pets will be sent to pet medical centers or contracted animal hospitals to get good care and medical resources. Disabled stray cats and dogs will be put into animal wheelchairs. The program called TNVR cooperated on by the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office and other animal protection societies is to make sure there is zero-euthanasia of street animals by catching them or spaying and neutering them. Many animals are abandoned because they have some diseases caused by being aged. Therefore, the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office connected the government policies and the private enterprise so that pet owners can bring their aged pets to nearby contracted long-term care institution for animals to ease the burden of them, which can also boost pet business. The Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office will continually implement training programs to guide the staff working at long-term care institutions.  
 
 “The issues of stray animals were caused by the lack of RCA problem management,” said the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office. By celebrating IHAD, they promoted responsible pet ownership. Besides, they have been constantly dedicating themselves to homeless animals by providing adoption services, pets spaying and neutering and continually spreading the ideas about proper pet care. With the effort the society has made, the goal of zero-abandonment will be achieved sooner or later. Managing homeless animals with shelters provided can make sure each individual is taken good care of and is no longer worried about their survival. 
 
For more information please contact Hu Chia Nan, the Director of Administration Office of New Taipei Government Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, at 29596353 ext.267 or 0939379270