Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan

A registered non-profit, non-government organization in Taipei, the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) supports the environment and animal welfare in their own way. Their main goal is to address the most neglected issues and they believe that effective change occurs at the institutional and systemic levels. They aim to raise awareness, make changes, and create a world where animals are treated equally. As an organization founded in 1999, over almost 25 years, they have successfully advocated for changes that have touched the lives of millions of animals every year. Research, investigation, policy advocacy, corporate engagement, industry engagement, and public awareness all fall under the scope of the organization’s work.

EAST is actively involved in conserving Taiwan’s unique and diverse wildlife. They work to protect endangered species. They promote animal welfare and help raise awareness about the upright treatment of animals. They called for stronger animal protection laws, rescued animals in distress, and encouraged responsible pet ownership. As for education, they played a pivotal role in this as well. They use different ways to tell people stories and inspire others. All these things they accomplished are directly positively affecting the animals. According to their website, they secured a ban on new battery cages for laying ducks, sparing more than 1.7 M ducks from cage farming. This is a huge number that cannot be ignored, they saved so many lives and made many more to have a better one. They have achieved their goal, and they are continuing to fight for the animals. Among all those ideas to help solve this issue, I would lean into education. Education is an undeniably important aspect, it directly affects children when they are young. A good education system can lead to a better future. If the organizations or governments can bring this issue to elementary school kids, or kids who are even younger, in a way that leaves a deep impression in children’s minds, there will be a chance that they will pay attention to these kinds of issues when they grow up. All in all, groups work better than singles, join and be part of the group!

TAEA

"Taiwan Animal Equality Association" focuses on animal rights education, which improves animal conditions from the ground up. Among the main tasks of the association are animal protection lectures, community promotion, research initiatives, translation of animal protection knowledge, arranging animal protection humanities and art activities, and developing original education and action plans. By providing children and adults with diverse, vital, and creative education programs, they enable them to build positive relationships and mutual support with animals and nature, awaken the public's ability to empathize and empathize through humanitarian care, and cultivate harmony between humans and animals. Secondly, inspire people to become environmental and animal protectors by taking practical actions.

The subjects of interest include ending animal testing, animals are not for entertainment, veganism, and habitat conservation. Education about animal rights opens people's eyes to the plight of animals, arouses sympathy and empathy, and helps them become compassionate guardians for these creatures. They believe that the change must begin with education about animal rights.

In 2022, more than 100 volunteers participated in the street cat-friendly project, which resulted in the construction of six cat houses and 65 care stations. The volunteer work visit involved more than 100 volunteers, just the result of a year of work.

Although this organization focuses on a different group than those we target, I think we could benefit from looking at the results of their previous work. We initially proposed photography exhibitions, documentaries, and online resources such as cage dog maps, which are similar to what some of you are proposing. As far as I am concerned, this organization is worth negotiating with. Several lectures have been given in Beitou, and schools often cooperate with the group. They have done quite in-depth work on one topic with small team size, only about ten or so employees.

HOTAC

Heart of Taiwan Animal Care (HOTAC), a non-profit and non-governmental institution established in 2012, carries out its influence by raising awareness of the issues, the sterilization of stray dogs and cats, and promoting new policies. It remained very organized with its motto of “One day, Taiwan is becoming the land where animals and humans can live peacefully together.” Every year, they reset their specific goals, including details for the execution process. They aim not only to resolve the urgency but the issue from its root. With that idea in mind, they believe education, also known as, raising awareness is a key. Thus, they have carried out lectures, public speeches, social media posts, and school-to-school projects to influence all generations with the idea of protecting animals. In all these projects, we can see the update on how the funding has been used. While understanding the expense, people can also see the cats and dogs that HOTAC has saved, some of them lost a leg, and some require immediate surgery. But what our team sees is not only how bad the situation is on those animals, but the fact that no matter how terrible the situation is, how much it will cost to heal the wound, the HOTAC will put all their effort and bet all their chances into saving them. And this is why HOTAC is our best role model. They taught us at the same time how to both be practical and ideal. Practical as in organizing ideas, and ideal as in dreaming big and making them happen. Today, they have sterilized over 1.1million dogs in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the process is not as easy as it might seem. This entire process includes whether they have been sterilized before or whether their health condition allows them to do so now. This process might go easy with one, but not with 1.1 million. Hence, we can see how efficient the HOTAC has been, especially for an institution that has not been established long. Together, we believe the one reason that can lead to this success is their long-standing determination to resolve the issue from its very root.