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Central News AgencyTaipei, June 25 (CNA) Civil groups including the "Walk for Wildlife" Action Alliance held a press conference today, citing examples of wild animals such as pangolin pups being repeatedly attacked and killed by stray dogs. They highlighted that increasing scientific evidence shows stray animals pose an ecological threat to shallow mountain habitats and called for the government to legislate management measures for ecological hotspots and establish cross-county ecological governance mechanisms.Li Tsung-chen, chairman of the "Walk for Wildlife" Action Alliance, Liu Chung-ching, a research assistant at the Graduate Institute of Wildlife Conservation at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Wang Yung-hsin, standing supervisor of the Taiwan Panthera Conservation Association, Chi Meng-jou, secretary-general of the Wild One Wildlife Rescue Association, and Kuo Chia-wen, a researcher at the Taiwan Wild at Heart Ecological Association, held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan titled "Over Half of Pangolin Pups Die Before Growing Up, Killed by Stray Dogs."Participating civil groups stated that a research team led by Associate Professor Sun Ching-min of the Graduate Institute of Wildlife Conservation at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology revealed that from 2022 to the present, 10 young pangolins tracked in the mountainous areas of Tainan and Kaohsiung have been confirmed to have died due to dog attacks, with dog attacks accounting for over 80% of known causes of death.Participating scholars and conservation groups pointed out that the problem of dog attacks is not limited to pangolins. Shallow mountain wildlife such as the leopard cat, barn owl, masked palm civet, and Formosan muntjac are also long-term threatened, becoming a significant challenge for biodiversity conservation in Taiwan. In the face of continuously increasing scientific evidence, relevant management measures should not be limited to end-stage rescue and case-by-case handling, but should focus on source management of stray animals, governance of ecological hotspots, and inter-agency coordination.Li Tsung-chen stated that the alliance advocates for the establishment of clear legal grounds to implement measures such as prohibiting feeding, capture and no-release policies, and strict enforcement against free-ranging animals within ecological hotspots, thereby reducing the threat of stray dogs and cats to conservation species. He also called for the central competent authority to coordinate with surrounding counties and cities of the hotspots to establish a joint management mechanism, strengthening inter-agency division of labor to avoid conservation loopholes at administrative boundaries.Regarding the management of dogs and cats in ecological hotspots, which involves capture, sheltering, law enforcement, and monitoring, Li Tsung-chen suggested that the central government and heads of various counties and cities should provide sufficient manpower, funding, and sheltering capacity to assist frontline units in their execution, preventing all responsibility and pressure from falling on grassroots staff. (Editor: Wan Shu-chang) 06/25/115Stand with facts, your every donation is a force to protect press freedomDownload the CNA "One-Stop News" APP to get the latest news in real-timeThe text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.