Q: When did Animals Taiwan get started?

A: The concept of AnimalsTaiwan began in December of 2004, and operations started in early 2005.

Q: How many animals have you rescued?

A: As of August 2006, AnimalsTaiwan has helped over 250 animals in need. With our new holding centre now up and running and greater support form the public thanks to our brilliantly managed Web site and events, we expect this figure to soar over the coming years - especially as AnimalsTaiwan now assists the public in performing their own rescues of needy strays as well as performing our own, a key weapon in the battle to promote the welfare of animals here in Taiwan.

Q: How long do you keep rescued animals?

A: Each case is different, of course, and adoptions are happening much faster now than in the past, thanks to the increased amount of media coverage we receive and the number of events we now hold each month. Some animals get adopted (or returned to their original guardians) within days, but other, less adoptable animals, have been with us for over a year. We now aim to rehome every rescued animal within three months, and, thanks to our wonderful admin team doing such a good job of promoting the animals we have available, this should be no problem. Three months gives us ample time to treat every animal, get them vaccinated and desexed, assess their temperament, and train them to be good additions to any family. AnimalsTaiwan is a no-kill organization, so rescued animals stay with us for the rest of their natural life or until they find a new home. We believe that killing dogs in our care to make room for new rescues does nothing to encourage responsible pet guardianship.

Q: How many of your adoptable animals are injured?

A: In the early days, AnimalsTaiwan would take in any animal that it found needing a home, but that practice soon stopped when we realised the huge numbers of animals we would have to be dealing with. Our policy now is to only take in animals who are in desparate need of medical attention or who would soon perish if left in the situation they were found in, such as very young puppies. It is clear to see that some of our animals have received major surgery, but all of our adoption candidates are healthy individuals with lovable characters. Every single one of our animals is perfect for someone - even the ones in wheelchairs - but most are perfect for anyone, having fully recovered from their ailments and already been trained to be ideal additions to any household. Every animal that leaves the care of AnimalsTaiwan is also fully vaccinated, ID-chipped, and desexed. They're all good to go!

Q: Who wants to adopt an injured animal?

A: Most people are very happy with the experience of adopting an injured or formerly abused animal. For most people, the act of giving kindness to the less fortunate of the world brings a rare satisfaction that many describe as spiritually lifting. It doesn't matter if those helped are people or animals; the benefit to the giver is the same. Adopting an injured animal says a lot about the person: it shows the world you truly care about the important things in life and are already succesful enough in love to give a little more time to helping others.

Q: Do you handle any animals other than dogs and cats?

A: Most of the animals rescued by AnimalsTaiwan have been cats and dogs, but we have also helped orphaned bats, injured birds, a few rabbits, and even an abandoned budgerigar! Although AnimalsTaiwan is oftn regarded as a stray-rescue organization, this is just the most visible part of what we do. In the future, our work will extend into monitoring the condition of animals kept in zoos and parks, reporting those sold illegally in night markets, and helping reduce the problem of illegally trapped wildlife.

Q: Do you receive government funding?

A: Currently, all AnimalsTaiwan funding comes from public support, through donations, sales of merchandise and dog biscuits, and through fundraising events. Now that AnimalsTaiwan is in the process of becoming a registered association in Taiwan, we do expect to work with the government and receive support from them, particularly to fund our upcoming CNR projects - a very important part of tackling the stray problem here.

Q: What is C.N.R.?

A: CNR stands for 'catch, neuter, and release'. With so many strays in Taiwan, it is impossible to put them all into good homes; it is also impossible to catch and kill all of them - while the catch-and-kill method is popular worldwide, it is only a short-term solution, and in fact can make the stray problem worse: dog-catchers only ever catch the friendly dogs. That means the unfriendly, aggressive dogs are free to have more pups because of the newly available resources. Put simply, catch-and-kill looks good but does little to lower stray population levels.

But by putting unbreedable animals back 'into the wild', the numbers can be reduced. These dogs will continue to guard their food source but won't spread disease or produce litters of pups. Studies show that if 67 percent of any stray population are sterilized, the numbers level off; desex more than 67 percent, and the population levels decrease. Couple this with an aggressive public awareness campaign to encourage desexing of pets, and the stray population problem could become a thing of the past.

CNR is humane, inexpensive (far less per dog than the catch-and-kill method), and effective. It is the only stray population control method that a responsible, forward-thinking government should adopt.

See also: TMAWT on CNR

Q: Do you send dogs overseas?

A: We have sent a small number of dogs to new homes in other countries, but it isn't standard practice nor our policy. There are two main reason why we don't do this as a rule: (1) We can fix the problem within Taiwan's borders, and we need people to see that there is hope here, and (2) If we send a dog to another country, he or she will be adopted by a family who would otherwise have adopted from a local shelter - in countries such as the United States, where more than 5 million unwanted dogs are euthanized each year, this means a local dog will die for each home that is taken up by a dog sent from Taiwan, and we simply don't want to support that.

Q: Why won't you accept animals from people who can no longer take care of their pet?

A: AnimalsTaiwan believes that responsible pet guardianship is the key to overcoming the stray problem here in Taiwan. People need to be responsible for their pets for life, not just pass the responsibilty onto others more caring. We do offer assistance with behavioural training, and we do send out details of how people can find new homes for their now unwanted four-legged family member, but we will not take responsibility for the animal - that rests with the owner.

Q: Does Sean have any pets of his own?

A: Sean has adopted a number of needy animals during his now seven-year stay in Taiwan. Currently, he has four dogs - Cookie, Chocolate, Prince, and Jake - and one cat, named Alicia. He has lost two dearly loved dogs: Foxie died of old age and heart problems, and Er Bao was poisoned. He says his dogs have brought him nothing but joy and he is forever grateful to have them in his life.

"They make me laugh and feel loved every single day, and they have been a responsibility I have never regretted taking on. Bless 'em! And they do like to take me for walks - including Alicia."

Q: How many animals normally live at the Taipei, Shilin facility?

A: At any one time we might have around 25 to 30 rescued dogs, a few boarders, and Sean's own four. We currently (8-10-06) have six cats, though the most we have had is 27, plus Alicia. We also have a pig living here right now, and have had birds and bats in staying with us in the past. On average, we have about 35 animals.

Q: Is this Animals Taiwan's first facility?

A: Well, originally we housed the animals in Sean's apartment in south Taipei and another shelter in Bali. As the number of rescues increased, it bceame impossible to have any more at his home, and moving animals from Bali to our vet or to potential homes was proving to be a logistical nighmare, so we sought a premises to serve as the AnimalsTaiwan holding centre proper, which is where we are now.

But it won't be the last: plans are already underway to move into much larger premises within a year or so, or perhaps buy land and build a holding centre from scratch - purpose built to maximise adoptions and improve the welfare of the animals in our care.

Q: How many people are in the Animals Taiwan organization?

A: We currently have about ten key members, who meet regularly to decide on policies, the direction of the organization, and day-to-day running of the holding centre and events. We also have a large number of wonderful volunteers who join us on the day to assist at events, or who come to the holding centre to help care for the animals. We seem to have about 50 active volunteers.

Then there are the people who support us in other ways, by donating, buying our merchandise, providing cheap or free services, or just telling all their friends about what we do. When you help AnimalsTaiwan in any way, you instantly become part of the team, and our victories become your victories - the rescues and rehoming only happen because of all the help we get, and we don't let you forget that. So the number of people in the organization actually runs into several hundred!

Q: Are they all foreigners?

A: Not at all. The majority of our volunteers and supporters and several of the key members are Taiwanese. The foreign members are constantly impressed with the number of local people who give up their time or money to make a difference to the lives of animals in this country.

Q: What does Animals Taiwan have planned for the future?

A: We aim to grow and grow! We will always rescue, rehabilitate and rehome the neediest stray animals, but as we grow, we will expand more into educating the public, organizing large-scale CNR projects, and acting as a resource for local and expat animal guardians in Taiwan.

In the very long term, it is our aim to build an international-standard dog and cat home, similar to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in the UK, and to have an animal welfare and protection agency similar in stature to the RSPCA. With the rate we have been growing already, and with the huge amount of support that we get both locally and abroad, we see these as very achievable goals, so keep watching this space!

Learn more:

Feature story in Taipei Times newspaper:
       For the Love of Lazerus (Apr 29, 2006)

Feature in POTS magazine:
       Strays get a second chance (Nov 11, 2005)

an adoption event in Taipei shopping mall.


an Animals Taiwan volunteer hard at work


pups, Ebony and Ivory


neck injury caused by wire


a great way to spend your day


love makes the world go round


adorable pooping device


Sean doing the activism circuit

See more photos here.

Volunteer !

If you wish to help stop the suffering and cruelty to Taiwan's animals, please contact us. A short amount of your time can make a huge difference to these creatures in desperate need of tender loving care.