Whether pet breeding businesses can be set up in residential and commercial areas within the New Taipei City urban planning area has sparked controversy.

(Photographed by reporter Xu Zhuoxun)

[Reporter Xu Zhuoxun/New Taipei Report] "Exclusive use of special areas" is the spirit of land use zoning control (referred to as land management) in the Urban Planning Law. Residential areas within the metropolitan area are not allowed to breed economic animals (cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, etc.), However, the identification of pet shops and cat kennels is in a gray area. The Ministry of the Interior expressly states that it is determined by the local governments. The New Taipei City Government has so far issued 183 pet breeding licenses, many of which are located in commercial or residential areas, and the status of the concubine is unknown. , causing a lot of controversy, the Bureau of Agriculture and the Bureau of Urban and Rural Development of the New Taipei City Government will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss and clarify the regulations.

In 2018, the Ministry of the Interior revised and issued the "Non-Urban Land Use Control Rules". Types A, B, and C construction land and agricultural and pastoral land can apply for animal protection facilities, and whether residential areas or commercial areas in metropolitan areas can apply for pet breeding According to the determination of the county and city governments in various places, it has also led to endless discussions among pet owners and animal protection activists.

Qiu Xinzhi, deputy director of the Urban and Rural Development Bureau, said that soil management is a rigid law. According to laws and regulations, the metropolitan area does not allow any breeding behavior, but the issuance of breeding licenses is determined by the Agricultural Bureau, and it is also based on the opinions of the Agricultural Bureau. It is rumored that "relaxing the breeding regulations in the metropolitan area", but the city government has no plans to do so.

The Bureau of Agriculture has checked out Taipei City and outlying island counties and cities. All counties and cities have issued breeding, trading, and foster care permits on urban planning land. It is determined that a specific pet industry is not a livestock facility, but since the central government has handed over the identification to the county and city governments, coordination and doubts between bureaus and departments are required.

Hou Zhaocheng of the New Taipei City Pet Business Association said that there have been pet shops or breeding businesses in residential and commercial areas for many years. He has obtained a pet business license for nearly 30 years. It is inconvenient for owners to get close to cats and dogs, and it is tantamount to killing the entire industry. The city government should restrain abandonment and unscrupulous breeders, not law-abiding businesses.

Councilor Dai Weishan said that according to the spirit of the Metropolitan Law, owners of pet sales should be located in commercial areas, while breeding businesses should be located in agricultural areas. However, in the past, the Urban and Rural Development Bureau and the Agricultural Bureau failed to provide a unified explanation, which led to the inability to implement special areas, and also led to illegal breeding in the past. With a tragedy hidden in residential areas, progressive animal-friendly cities should wind up instead of relaxing restrictions and calling on the city government to rein in the precipice.