Migrant workers in Tainan suspected of slaughtering dogs for consumption; city inspection confirms "it is really dog meat"

City Councilor Lin Yanzhu received a complaint in July that a dog abuse incident was suspected to have occurred in a dormitory for foreign migrant workers. Follow-up inspections of the meat in the refrigerator even found dog meat. (Provided by Lin Yanzhu Service Office)

Tainan City Councilor Lin Yanzhu received a complaint in July this year that a suspected dog abuse incident occurred in a dormitory for foreign migrant workers in Annan District, and there were even reports of dogs being slaughtered and dog meat eaten. The samples taken by the Nan City Animal Protection Office at the time were initially determined to be pork and chicken, but subsequent inspections found dog meat.

Lin Yanzhu held a press conference today to question the city government's failure to announce the investigation results in a timely manner and asked relevant units to trace the source of the meat and whether the dogs were illegally slaughtered. The Tainan City Agriculture Bureau admitted that it was an oversight in not immediately informing citizens and representatives of the public, and apologized for this.

Lin Yanzhu explained that there were five puppies about 2 months old on site at the time. Their hind legs were all broken and they could only be dragged around. Another female dog was missing, which raised suspicions that dogs were abused or slaughtered for food. However, the six Filipino migrant workers who rented the dormitory said they did not abuse the dogs. The meat in the refrigerator was also purchased, so they asked the Animal Protection Office to take samples for testing. Now that the test results have been released, it is indeed dog meat.

Agriculture Director Feng Xiangyong said that he was informed of the relevant contents within 2 to 3 days after receiving the National Taiwan University inspection report, and transferred it to the District Attorney's Office for investigation in accordance with the law. The failure to publicly explain it to the public and representatives of the people at the first time was indeed the Agriculture Bureau's negligence, and he was very sorry for this.

Director of the Animal Welfare Department Fang Chuanhe explained that the preliminary information released on July 7 was based on the situation learned on the spot that day; professional inspections such as genetic sequencing will take about 3 to 4 weeks. After the Animal Welfare Office received the formal inspection report on July 29, it was sent to the District Prosecutor's Office for investigation. Regarding the preservation and timeliness of evidence, we will strengthen horizontal contact with the police in the future. As cases of dog abuse and mutilation of dogs have been reported frequently in various places recently, the Animal Welfare Department also attaches great importance to handling all types of animal abuse cases strictly in accordance with the law to protect the rights of animals.