Council Member Proposes Borrowing Cats for Rat Control, New Taipei Agriculture Bureau: Rescued Cats Don't Catch Rats
During a New Taipei City Council session, a council member suggested borrowing cats from animal shelters to control rat infestations, but the Agriculture Bureau responded that "rescued cats, due to long-term human provision of food, have weakened hunting instincts and do not catch rats." The Animal Protection Office emphasized that this is a natural change in animal behavior, not related to mistreatment.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 6, 2026 at 20:44
- 🔍 Collected: May 6, 2026 at 21:01 (16 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 6, 2026 at 22:18 (1h 16m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Hong-kuo, New Taipei 6th) A New Taipei City council member proposed borrowing cats from animal shelters to solve rat infestations. The New Taipei City Agriculture Department stated that rescued cats, due to long-term provision of food by humans, have weakened hunting behavior and do not catch rats. The Animal Protection Office emphasized that this is a natural change in animal behavior and is not related to mistreatment.
During a New Taipei City Council business inquiry, blue and green camp council members raised questions regarding rat control issues in Taipei and New Taipei. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) council member Shih Yi-yu stated that recent urban redevelopment nearby is suspected to have caused rats hiding in sewers to emerge, demanding full efforts in rat extermination. DPP council member Yamada Mo-yi stated that even though her service office does not cook, rats have still invaded, highlighting that this is an urgent public health issue that needs to be resolved.
DPP council member Chen Nai-yu stated that she requested the city government to immediately establish a "New Taipei Rat Infestation and Hantavirus Inter-departmental Special Project Team" and provide a list of high-risk hot zones, establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for reporting, assignment, improvement, re-inspection, and case closure. She also announced principles for poison bait use, stipulating that it should not be indiscriminately deployed, not arbitrarily deployed in ecologically sensitive areas, and must have warnings, regular inspections, retrieval of dead rats, and disclosure of deployment areas.
DPP council member Lee Chien-ping stated that her service office previously had a rat infestation, which was solved by borrowing a cat from someone. However, when she recently researched borrowing cats from the Agriculture Department's animal shelter with Shih Yi-yu, she was told that "cats currently housed in animal shelters no longer catch rats." She questioned whether the cats were being mistreated in the shelters, causing them to lose their natural instinct to catch rats.
The New Taipei City Government Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office clarified to the Central News Agency that cats do not catch rats mainly because rescued cats are consistently supplied with food by humans over a long period, making them unnecessary to forage for themselves. This causes their original hunting behavior to gradually weaken due to a lack of actual need. This is a natural change in animal behavior. In contrast, stray cats in the wild still retain their natural instincts, such as catching rats, because they need to forage for themselves.
The Animal Protection Office emphasized that cats' hunting behavior requires learning and accumulation of experience. Even for domestic cats, if they lack practice led by their mother cat or companions during their early years, even if they have the instinct, they will not only not catch rats but may even be teased by rats, or even be afraid of rats. In other words, the fact that cats housed in animal shelters do not catch rats is due to a stable living environment, sufficient food sources, and lack of hunting learning experience, and has nothing to do with whether they are being mistreated. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150506
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Hong-kuo, New Taipei 6th) A New Taipei City council member proposed borrowing cats from animal shelters to solve rat infestations. The New Taipei City Agriculture Department stated that rescued cats, due to long-term provision of food by humans, have weakened hunting behavior and do not catch rats. The Animal Protection Office emphasized that this is a natural change in animal behavior and is not related to mistreatment.
During a New Taipei City Council business inquiry, blue and green camp council members raised questions regarding rat control issues in Taipei and New Taipei. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) council member Shih Yi-yu stated that recent urban redevelopment nearby is suspected to have caused rats hiding in sewers to emerge, demanding full efforts in rat extermination. DPP council member Yamada Mo-yi stated that even though her service office does not cook, rats have still invaded, highlighting that this is an urgent public health issue that needs to be resolved.
DPP council member Chen Nai-yu stated that she requested the city government to immediately establish a "New Taipei Rat Infestation and Hantavirus Inter-departmental Special Project Team" and provide a list of high-risk hot zones, establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for reporting, assignment, improvement, re-inspection, and case closure. She also announced principles for poison bait use, stipulating that it should not be indiscriminately deployed, not arbitrarily deployed in ecologically sensitive areas, and must have warnings, regular inspections, retrieval of dead rats, and disclosure of deployment areas.
DPP council member Lee Chien-ping stated that her service office previously had a rat infestation, which was solved by borrowing a cat from someone. However, when she recently researched borrowing cats from the Agriculture Department's animal shelter with Shih Yi-yu, she was told that "cats currently housed in animal shelters no longer catch rats." She questioned whether the cats were being mistreated in the shelters, causing them to lose their natural instinct to catch rats.
The New Taipei City Government Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office clarified to the Central News Agency that cats do not catch rats mainly because rescued cats are consistently supplied with food by humans over a long period, making them unnecessary to forage for themselves. This causes their original hunting behavior to gradually weaken due to a lack of actual need. This is a natural change in animal behavior. In contrast, stray cats in the wild still retain their natural instincts, such as catching rats, because they need to forage for themselves.
The Animal Protection Office emphasized that cats' hunting behavior requires learning and accumulation of experience. Even for domestic cats, if they lack practice led by their mother cat or companions during their early years, even if they have the instinct, they will not only not catch rats but may even be teased by rats, or even be afraid of rats. In other words, the fact that cats housed in animal shelters do not catch rats is due to a stable living environment, sufficient food sources, and lack of hunting learning experience, and has nothing to do with whether they are being mistreated. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150506