Animal Protection Groups Claim Live Animals Transported as Cargo is Abuse; Ministry of Agriculture Plans Regulations
Animal protection groups revealed that millions of live animals annually are transported as ordinary cargo by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) parcel service, suffering severe abuse. The Ministry of Agriculture stated it will cooperate with the Ministry of Transportation and TRA to discuss and formulate basic regulations within a month, aiming for completion by year-end.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 16:56
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 17:32 (35 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 18:45 (1h 12m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Shu-fang, Taipei 7th) Animal protection groups held a press conference today, pointing out that millions of live animals annually, including chicks, ducklings, rabbits, mice, hedgehogs, and pet birds, are transported as if abused, treated as cargo by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) parcel service. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to formulate relevant guidelines and norms for improvement.
The Taiwan Rabbit Association and the Taiwan Animal Social Research Association held a press conference to release investigative videos on the transportation of live animals by TRA parcel service. They estimate that millions of chicks, ducklings, rabbits, mice, hedgehogs, pet birds, and various small mammals are transported annually, lacking legal supervision and treated as ordinary cargo, crammed into TRA parcel service for long-distance transport during transactions between breeders and wholesalers.
Animal protection groups pointed out that their investigation recorded transport images of rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, dogs, cats, chicks, ducklings, and pigeons, with chicks and ducklings accounting for the majority. The entire transportation process involves serious animal abuse, violating multiple provisions of the "Animal Protection Act" regarding owner responsibility, prohibition of abuse, attention to food and water, and avoiding startling animals.
Lin Chiao, Public Affairs Director of the Taiwan Rabbit Association, said that TRA's parcel service, formerly known as "mail and luggage cars," currently has six daily Juguang Express services that carry passenger luggage or agricultural products in additional carriages. Due to low fees, animals are calculated as "packages," with a fee of NT$200 to NT$260 per piece under 10 kilograms. However, there are no welfare regulations for transporting live animals, including vehicle structure, carriage facilities, personnel allocation and training, and collection processes. For many years, it has been abused by breeders and wholesalers as a logistics tool.
The Taiwan Animal Social Research Association pointed out that the current "Animal Transportation Management Regulations" only cover economic animals like pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese, and a small number of protected wild animals. There are no commercial transportation regulations for large annual trading volumes of chicks, ducklings, young livestock, and small mammals.
Animal protection groups cited examples: animals are often crammed into narrow and insufficiently tall old iron cages or cardboard boxes, leading to trampling, bone injuries, or maintaining twisted postures for long periods. TRA parcel service lacks temperature control, and under high temperatures in summer, hundreds of animals are trapped in sealed carriages, only able to nibble on wet newspaper next to frozen plastic bottles to quench their thirst. It is common to see small mice suffering heatstroke and paralysis, or chicks dying in batches.
In addition, animal protection groups found that to save costs, operators often mix different species (such as feeder mice and rabbits) in the same cage. Live animals are even often stacked indiscriminately with agricultural products and daily necessities. Cross-county transportation often exceeds 5 hours, with no one providing water or food throughout the journey. Animals transported to the east often arrive late at night and are forced to stay at the station until they are picked up the next day, creating a gap of over ten hours without supervision or care.
Animal protection groups suggest that the Ministry of Agriculture amend the "Animal Transportation Management Regulations" and work with the Ministry of Transportation to establish animal welfare provisions for TRA's current live animal transport methods, covering environmental hygiene, cage space, and drinking facilities. If this cannot be achieved, the Ministry of Transportation should order TRA to immediately terminate its live animal parcel service and return to professional animal logistics. The Ministry of Agriculture should proactively mediate and subsidize operators with large transportation needs (such as chick farms and pet wholesalers) to shift to private professional logistics providers with temperature control and professional care capabilities.
Chen Chung-hsing, Deputy Director of the Animal Protection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, told the media that animal transporters should bear management responsibility and must ensure animals have water and proper excretion environments during transport, and should not be startled, harassed, or suffer pain. Violators can be fined according to the "Animal Protection Act."
Chen Chung-hsing said that economic animals are sent for slaughter, so transportation conditions are relatively poor, and the Ministry of Agriculture has set minimum standards. For non-economic animals, the Ministry of Agriculture is willing to cooperate with the Ministry of Transportation and TRA to formulate relevant guidelines, hoping to start discussions within a month and establish basic regulations by the end of the year. (Editor: Guan Zhongwei) 1150507
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.
Download Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Shu-fang, Taipei 7th) Animal protection groups held a press conference today, pointing out that millions of live animals annually, including chicks, ducklings, rabbits, mice, hedgehogs, and pet birds, are transported as if abused, treated as cargo by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) parcel service. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to formulate relevant guidelines and norms for improvement.
The Taiwan Rabbit Association and the Taiwan Animal Social Research Association held a press conference to release investigative videos on the transportation of live animals by TRA parcel service. They estimate that millions of chicks, ducklings, rabbits, mice, hedgehogs, pet birds, and various small mammals are transported annually, lacking legal supervision and treated as ordinary cargo, crammed into TRA parcel service for long-distance transport during transactions between breeders and wholesalers.
Animal protection groups pointed out that their investigation recorded transport images of rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, dogs, cats, chicks, ducklings, and pigeons, with chicks and ducklings accounting for the majority. The entire transportation process involves serious animal abuse, violating multiple provisions of the "Animal Protection Act" regarding owner responsibility, prohibition of abuse, attention to food and water, and avoiding startling animals.
Lin Chiao, Public Affairs Director of the Taiwan Rabbit Association, said that TRA's parcel service, formerly known as "mail and luggage cars," currently has six daily Juguang Express services that carry passenger luggage or agricultural products in additional carriages. Due to low fees, animals are calculated as "packages," with a fee of NT$200 to NT$260 per piece under 10 kilograms. However, there are no welfare regulations for transporting live animals, including vehicle structure, carriage facilities, personnel allocation and training, and collection processes. For many years, it has been abused by breeders and wholesalers as a logistics tool.
The Taiwan Animal Social Research Association pointed out that the current "Animal Transportation Management Regulations" only cover economic animals like pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese, and a small number of protected wild animals. There are no commercial transportation regulations for large annual trading volumes of chicks, ducklings, young livestock, and small mammals.
Animal protection groups cited examples: animals are often crammed into narrow and insufficiently tall old iron cages or cardboard boxes, leading to trampling, bone injuries, or maintaining twisted postures for long periods. TRA parcel service lacks temperature control, and under high temperatures in summer, hundreds of animals are trapped in sealed carriages, only able to nibble on wet newspaper next to frozen plastic bottles to quench their thirst. It is common to see small mice suffering heatstroke and paralysis, or chicks dying in batches.
In addition, animal protection groups found that to save costs, operators often mix different species (such as feeder mice and rabbits) in the same cage. Live animals are even often stacked indiscriminately with agricultural products and daily necessities. Cross-county transportation often exceeds 5 hours, with no one providing water or food throughout the journey. Animals transported to the east often arrive late at night and are forced to stay at the station until they are picked up the next day, creating a gap of over ten hours without supervision or care.
Animal protection groups suggest that the Ministry of Agriculture amend the "Animal Transportation Management Regulations" and work with the Ministry of Transportation to establish animal welfare provisions for TRA's current live animal transport methods, covering environmental hygiene, cage space, and drinking facilities. If this cannot be achieved, the Ministry of Transportation should order TRA to immediately terminate its live animal parcel service and return to professional animal logistics. The Ministry of Agriculture should proactively mediate and subsidize operators with large transportation needs (such as chick farms and pet wholesalers) to shift to private professional logistics providers with temperature control and professional care capabilities.
Chen Chung-hsing, Deputy Director of the Animal Protection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, told the media that animal transporters should bear management responsibility and must ensure animals have water and proper excretion environments during transport, and should not be startled, harassed, or suffer pain. Violators can be fined according to the "Animal Protection Act."
Chen Chung-hsing said that economic animals are sent for slaughter, so transportation conditions are relatively poor, and the Ministry of Agriculture has set minimum standards. For non-economic animals, the Ministry of Agriculture is willing to cooperate with the Ministry of Transportation and TRA to formulate relevant guidelines, hoping to start discussions within a month and establish basic regulations by the end of the year. (Editor: Guan Zhongwei) 1150507
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.
Download Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.