Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture is Failing to Protect Animals Used in Experiments: PETA Asia Statement

Please see the following statement from the President of PETA Asia, Jason Baker, regarding the decision by the Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture to leave gaping loopholes in its “Regulations Governing the Sources, Scope of Application and Management of Laboratory Animals,” ignoring PETA’s recommendations and the pleas of more than 30,000 PETA supporters. This regulation omits dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, reptiles, and amphibians—the species most vulnerable to illegal wild-catching and trafficking, and contains loopholes allowing experimenters to source animals from countries that have lax or non-existent animal protection laws:

The Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture had a chance to show the world how to protect animals used in experiments—instead, its disappointing lack of leadership is a death sentence for thousands. Their decision leaves dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, reptiles, and amphibians unprotected from being illegally caught from the wild, trafficked, sold, and used in experiments, increasing the risk of abuse, suffering, and deadly zoonotic diseases. The regulation also allows buying and importing animals from countries with little to no animal protection. PETA strongly urges the agency to reconsider and implement the common-sense recommendations from PETA and more than 30,000 PETA supporters that would align with the global standard of sourcing animals used in experiments.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”— points out that Every Animal Is Someone. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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