The Taichung City Public Animal Shelter Management Operating Guideline

Part One. General provisions
I. The standard operating procedure for the city’s animal shelters; animal placement management has been promulgated in accordance with Article 6 of the “Animal Shelter Installation Organizational Criteria”, as promulgated per par 2, Article 14 of the “Animal Protection Act”.
II. Objective
To define the animal placement processing operating method at public animal shelters for strengthening the shelters’ management and service conforming to animal protection and public service philosophy, and to assist improving stray animal problem by enhancing the public’s view of the shelters with a positive perception.
III. Scope of applicability
(I) The animal shelters as stipulated under par 1, Article 14 of the “Animal Protection Act”.
(II) The term “animals” the operating guide refers to apply to dogs and cats.
IV. Operating and management approach
Heeding to the approach of respective animal life, protecting animals and servicing the public, by instilling positive value to the shelter’s management work.
V. Origin of animal sheltering
(I) Stray animals captured by the municipal Animal Protection and Quarantine Department, turned in by other institutions, organizations or members of the general public.
(II) Pet owners who wish to handover animals they cannot continue to raise shall employ the following
procedures:
(1) Immediately check whether the animal has an implanted chip. If there is no chip, then immediately register the animal and have a chip implanted in accordance with Article 19 of the "Animal Protection Act," and pay NT$300 for the cost of chip implantation and NT$100 for pet registration (this pet registration fee will be waived if the animal has already been spayed or
neutered) in accordance with Article 3 of the "Pet Registration Management and For-profit Pet Breeding/Sale/Boarding Enterprise Management Fee Collection Standards." Persons who refuse to have a chip implanted may be issued an advisory notice and required to make improvement within a limited time period.
(2) Pet owners shall submit relevant information concerning the animals (including age, sex, fur color and features, variety, and health history) and a full-body photograph taken within the previous three months, and fill out a placement application form (attachment 4) at a city animal shelter. The foregoing materials shall be given to personnel at the shelter so that information concerning the animal can be posted on the Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office's adoption website for at least 60 days.(3) After adoption information has been posted for 60 days, if no persons wishing to adopt the animal are found, the original owner shall perform relinquishment procedures at the shelter, and shall fill out and submit a statement reiterating their relinquishment of the animal (attachment 5). The shelter shall then perform continuing calls for adoption.
(III)When members of the public find an animal, the must fill out a found animal hand-over statement (attachment 6); after the identity of the person handing over the animal has been confirmed, the animal shall be formally handed over to the shelter.
VI. Information disclosure
(I) The shelters are to clearly identify the office hours or the hours open and the exclusive telephone number for the public to file for adoption.
(II) The shelters’ display area for adoptable dogs and cats and the adorable animal area open in visitation hours are open for public visitation ad photographing.
(III) Conducting interview filming, audiovisual production of open information imagery on the shelters requires filing an application with the Department, and also abiding by the application cautionary measures (the format is as shown in Appendage I), and where necessary the staff are to steer through the visitation area and provide adequate description.
VII. Live animals on placement may not be supplied to academic or research institutions for conducting experimentation.
VIII. The animal shelter’s cleaning, daily care for dogs and cats open for adoption, beautification, training, campus tour guide, adoption promotion and other educational campaign work may have volunteers’ recruits to render volunteered assistance, by which to excel the welfare of animals accepted to the shelter. To strengthen the volunteering function, the city government or relevant agency may assist in the training.
IX. The city government may commission private organization or legitimately incepted groups to install animal shelters.

Part Two. Standard operating procedure on management work (for the standard operating procedure on animal management work diagram, refer to Appendage II).
I. Animal takeover work
(I) When the animal controller turns in and delivered captured or distress rescued animal and also fills out the animal inventory/turnover list (as shown in Appendage III), the animal, when being removed from the control vehicle, is to be handle in a gentle manner, and avoid using any coercive methods.
(II) An owner turns in a pet he/she no longer desires to keep, or member of the public turns in a found animal, is required to fill out the animal turnover affidavit (as shown in Appendage IV), and upon verifying the person turning over an animal without any discrepancy, the animal along with the form is to undergo the inventory/turnover process.
(III) Animals that have been detained or seized per the Animal Protection Act are to be accompanied by relevant document data and filling out the turnover affidavit for verifying the identity of the person turning over the animal without any further discrepancy, and the paperwork is used along with the animal for processing the inventory and turnover.
II. Animal inventory/acceptance and management work
(I) Animal inventory and acceptance
1. To verify with the animal control officer on information pertaining to the source of an animal, or to verify with the person turning in an animal on information pertaining to the animal and supplying relevant proof of documentation.
2. To scan the animal for the chipset using a chipset reading device scanning around an animal’s two front legs, spinal and peripheral area on the backside, or to scan the entire body where deemed necessary, by which to retrieve the chipset number, or to go by the dog tag or other identifiable means to furnish documentation and photographing for announcement purposes.
3. Of animals scanned with a chipset number and also with pet registration data, the notification work is made for the owner to reclaim the animal.
(II) Initial examination
1. The animal worker and the veterinarian are to render, according to an animal’s appearance, its gender, body size, and also initially categorize whether it is an healthy animal or a severely ill animal, and the animal is to be given vaccine injection, de-worming or medicated bath if no visible clinical symptoms were found.
2. Records are appended on each individual animal, including the acceptance date, animal number, animal type, coloration, gender, cause of acceptance and where found, identifiable chipset or dog tag number and the like (the Animal status record card is as depicted in Appendage V).
3. Of animals reaching the conditions of severe illness, with contagious disease or under other emergency circumstances, the veterinarian is to promptly render the conditions and also seek necessary disposition, and in a bid to relief a sick or injured animal’s pain suffering and to maintain public health, the animal’s diagnosis conditions are to be documented, and may be relieved by humanitarian means per stipulations provided under par 3, Article 21 of the “Animal Protection Act”. However, of dogs and cats with identity marking, a notice is to be made to the owner first before further processing.
4. When discovering an animal suspicious of being abused or harmed constituting an act breaching relevant circumstances the Animal Protection Act stipulates, documentation may be retained first, and the information referred to competent government authorities as the substantive evidence for conducting an investigation.
(III) Partitioned (caged) feeding management
1. The animals are kept by gender, size, and age (adjusted by pen, cage condition).
2. Animals in the breastfeeding period and their young are to be kept separate from other animals.
3. Animals with an aggressive nature are to be kept separate from other animals, and also identified in the animal status record card.
4. Animals with ominous signs of severe illness or other injuries are to be kept separate from other animals.
(IV) Animal data appendage
Using the animal inventory/turnover sheet and following the initial examination, an animal is assigned with a pen (cage) number, and a file appended for producing the animal status record card, and the information also cataloged onto the management information system, with results of the second examination also noted in the record card.
(V) The second examination
1. Starting on day two of the placement, the veterinarian is responsible for conducting the second evaluation examination, which is divided into health evaluation and behavioral evaluation, and the results are noted on the animal status record card (for the stray dog/cat’s health and behavioral evaluation sheet, refer to Appendage IV).
2. If the health evaluation indicates reaching the condition of critical sickness, contagious disease or under other urgent situations, the veterinarian is to render a decision and signature for disposing an animal by humanitarian means per stipulations set forth under par 3, Article 21 of the “Animal Protection Act”. However, of dogs or cats with identify marking, the owner is to be notified first before any disposition is taken.
3. After the behavioral evaluation and health evaluation, an animal is distinguished into healthy, and in good behavior fit for adoption, or as a healthy animal with rehabilitable behavioral therapy, or as an animal neither healthy nor in good behavior fit for adoption.
4. Animal screening principles for public adoption:
(1) To evaluate and screen for animals that are healthy, gentle in nature and without aggressiveness and mean streak.
(2) Animals that have been screened and assessed as fit for public adoption are to undergo general physical examination to effectively monitor and control an animal shelter’s dog registration data and disease quarantine, where the veterinarian is to impregnate the chipset, administer Rabies and other vaccine inoculation, de-worming and administering the neutering procedure.
5. During the shelter placement period, if clinical symptoms appear, an animal is segregated for observation and treatment.
6. During to observation period 5~7 days after administering the vaccine shots, an animal is evaluated for its health and behavior, and one assessed in a good condition is moved to the healthy area, and given vaccine booster and neutering procedure before listing for public adoption.
7. 30 days after the shelter placement, an animal is given vaccine booster, and if an adoption comes through prior to the 30th day, the adopter is required to bring the animal to receive the subsequent vaccine booster at an animal hospital.
(VI) Daily animal management
1. Roaming inspection: With daily scheduled and random roaming inspections, the animal worker is to first conduct a roaming inspection around the premises when coming to the shift at 8:00AM and 1:00PM, and if any dead animal is found, it is to be removed from the cage area and verified against the animal status record card, and the veterinarian is notified for disposition, and of any interim situation found on an animal during a roaming inspection, the veterinarian is to timely notified for seeking necessary disposition.
2. Feeding: The feeding is done once in the morning and in the afternoon on a daily basis (the frequency may be increased depending on the conditions).
3. Cleaning: The cleaning is done one in the morning and once in the afternoon on a daily basis.
4. Inventory and documenting: Inventorying the animal count and observing and documenting any special animal conditions is to be executed in the morning and in the afternoon on a daily basis.
5. Disinfection: Sterilizing the environment, closure (cage) shack and disinfecting vector, mosquitoes and insects is to be sought respectively once every week (the frequency is to be increased depending on the circumstances.
(VII) Mandated management cautionary measures:
1. The feeding food should not be left out too long, avoid the food soaking in water or contaminated with animal excrement to cause intestinal, digestive illness or drawing flies ad mosquitoes.
2. The water bowl is to be kept in a condition with clean drinking water, helping to prevent the animal from contracting intestinal, digestive illness for drinking unclean water.
3. Cleaning the animal shacks is best to avoid wetting the dogs or cats to avoid causing discomfort to the animals.
4. The peripheries of the doghouse shall be kept clean, with caution also to maintain the drainage ditch’s irrigation and circulation, by which to maintain sanitation in the captive environment.
5. The animal feeding space and density shall be able avoid signs of overcrowding, feeding frenzy, repression.
6. The captive environment shall offer proper temperature control measures for the animals, depending on fluctuations of the outside temperatures, and puppies at risk of hypothermia are to be given proper warmth, in conditions of high temperatures, temperature control and adjustment are to be stepped up to the animal pens to avoid the animals suffering from coldness, hypothermia, or heat constriction and other state of discomfort.
III. Animal adoption, the adoption process
(I) Reclaiming: Of animals with pet registration or other identifiable marking, the owner is to be notified to reclaim the animal.
1. Of animals scanned with a chipset number and also with a valid pet registration information or other forms of identifiable means, the animal owner is to be notified by means of telephone or delivered notice (where the processor is to document the notifying means, date, time, etc.) to reclaim the animal (a notice specimen is as depicted in Appendage VII).
2. Reclaiming method: (The animal reclaiming affidavit is as shown in Appendage VIII)
(1) Of dogs and cats with a valid registration: The owner himself/herself or an appointee with the owner’s authorization letter is to present the owner’s proof of identity documents for the animal officer to verify the pet registration system data without any further discrepancy, noting on the pet registration system the admission date and reclaim date. The owner needs to cover the feed and site management expenditures, at NT$200 per animal per day, and following the remittance, the animal is handed to the owner to bring back.
(2) Of animals with a valid registration: The applicant is to supply verifiable information that he or she has actually adopted the animal, and in the case of a dog, the owner’s proof of identity documentation is to be supplied, complete with chipset impregnation, pet registration and Rabies vaccine inoculation, noting also on the pet registration system the admission date and reclaim date. The owner needs to shoulder the feed and site management expenditure, at NT$200 per animal per day plus the cost of the pet chipset, neck tag and the impregnation processing fee, at NT$300 per animal, and upon remitting the fees, the animal is handed over to the owner to bring back.
(3) As stipulated under par 2, Article 21 of the “Animal Protection Act”, an owner who fails to reclaim whose animal from the shelter exceeding twelve days is to be processed per stipulations set forth under Article 12 or Article 13 of said act, or per the guideline’s animal adoption process.
3. In the case of abandonment, penal action is issued per stipulations set forth under subpar 2, par 1, Article 30 of the Animal Protection Act.
(II) Adoption: 
1. Source of animals that have been evaluated and open for adoption:
(1) Animals with a valid identity tag that the owner has been notified by phone and public announcement to reclaim the animal, but fails to reclaim the animal exceeding twelve days.
(2) Animals without a valid identity tag through evaluation and screening and no one has come forward to reclaim them.
(3) Emergency rescue of animals: Before pet owners or animals'
actual caretakers claim an animal at a shelter that has been rescued, they must first pay off rescue expenses, and must present a receipt or proof of payment. They may take back the animal after it has been determined that Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Animal Protection Act has not been violated.
3. If an animal has been found to have been abandoned, the owner shall be subject to penalties as prescribed in Article 29, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Animal Protection Act.
2. Open adopting principles:
(1) Unneutered animals evaluated by the veterinarian as healthy and well behaved are given neutering procedure and post-surgical care before opening for public adoption.
(2) Neutered animals with a valid identity tag turned in by the owner who completes the pet surrendering formalities are open for public adoption.
(3) Where deemed necessary, of animals the veterinarian evaluates as unfit to undergo the neutering procedure, a member of the public is to sign the adoption affidavit and bring the animal, condition permits, to receive the neutering procedure at an animal hospital, also presenting pertinent proof to the Department within seven days following the neutering procedure.
3. Adoption method: The applicant is to present whose proof of identity document, and the canine is to have completed the pet registration as regulated, completed with a Rabies vaccine inoculation certificate, and if a veterinarian should reckon an animal’s health state or being too young to receive the Rabies vaccine, the adopter shall have the animal vaccinated within a prescribed period (for the adoption affidavit, please refer to Appendage IX).
(III) Of the foresaid announcement announced via the Internet, the inquiry Web site is of the city’s Animal Protection and and Health Inspection Office Web site at http://english.animal.taichung.gov.tw/ and click the “Taichung City Animal Shelter” – the “Information on Detained Animals”, or to be announced by poster or by other open means, and also best be made in locations frequently by members of the public. The content of the announcement is to disclose a canine’s capture date, location, species, age, size (body weight), coloration, gender or photograph, indicating individual characteristics (as depicted in Appendage X).
IV. Animal halfway shelter management operation
(I) Application and review/approval
1. Applicant’s qualification: The city’s legitimate animal hospitals, the city’s legitimately incepted animal protection-related organizations, and animal activists recommended by the city’s legitimately incepted animal protection-related organizations (hereinafter referred to as the Halfway House).
2. Application method: The applicant is to fill out a “Taichung City Halfway Shelter application form” (as shown in Appendage XI), and the halfway shelter, if other than an animal hospital, is required to commission a legitimate animal hospital in the city, when administering animal medical care, and also to submit an appointment certificate (as shown in Appendage XII), where the halfway shelter an applicant designates shall be registered within the jurisdiction of Taichung City, and only one locale may be designed as the halfway shelter.
3. Review/approval and contract signing: The Department is to dispatch personnel to conduct survey and investigation at the halfway shelter, and following a satisfactory review, the Department is to notify the halfway shelter to complete the contract signing formalities before the shelter may begin to offer animal halfway placement.
(II) Animal selection:
1. Priority selection is to be made to injury/sickness well recovered, young and weak (requiring milk feeding) animals requiring long-term care to be arranged for placement at the shelter, and also to undergo the chipset impregnation and Rabies vaccine inoculation formalities (except animals still on milk feeding) prior to being placed with the halfway shelter.
2. Principles governing the sequence of halfway shelter placement:
(1) The “animal type” and “body weight” indicated in the halfway shelter application form are to be taken as the sequence of priority for animal shelter placement, and the placement is to be implemented per the sequence of priority, where the number of animals each applicant adopts may not exceed five, and only when reaching the maximum halfway placement cap, where the halfway shelter animals have been adopted or sent back to the department may additional animals be placed with the halfway shelter.
(2) If an animal has been admitted to the halfway shelter without the city’s distress rescue, and the rescue hospital is of one of the city’s halfway shelters, said hospital reserves the right to accept the placement of said animal with priority.
(3) Those evaluated by two department veterinarians to have not been sterilized and are in healthy conditions and good behavior are sent to the animal hospital in sequence of priority, which will assist the department process canine (feline) halfway shelter placement, neutering procedure and enlist for the adoption work.
(III) Implementation method: to be implemented per the city’s current year project funding and the content of announcement.
(IV) When the initial owner files for a reclaim formality when an animal is placed with a halfway shelter for up to 12 days, the halfway shelter shall assist the department carry the animal back to the halfway shelter for returning to the initial owner, and may not refuse to cooperate.
(V) Of animals that have been placed with halfway shelter exceeding 12 days and no initial owner has come forward to file for the reclaim formalities, the halfway shelter may adopt said animal with priority or look for a suitable adopter. Adopting a canine (or feline) requires completing the pet registration, Rabies vaccine inoculation and neutering procedures at a city-sanctioned legal pet registration station or at an animal hospital.
V. Animal humanitarian euthanasia process
(I) Subject: Those animals suffering form critical sickness, severe injuries, or contracting severe infectious disease as evaluated by the veterinarians or those exceeding the placement volume reaching saturation may be put down by humanitarian means per relevant stipulations provided by the Animal Protection Act.
(II) Execution site: The shelter is to install a humanitarian slaughter operating area, and if the space permits, it is best to choose an isolated and closed off area, to be segregated from the placement area, in order to avoid animals kept in open space from witnessing the process.
(III) Operating procedure & cautionary measures:
1. Before executing it, recheck the animal’s identity by scanning the chipset one more time.
2. Bring the scheduled animal to the humanitarian slaughter area for execution, keeping the environment serene and peaceful.
3. Administer the drug in the feeding gravy, which puts the animal in a tranquilized, anesthetic state, making the animal lose consciousness and cognitive awareness.
4. For animals that are mean and aggressive, or overly nervous or have yet reached the tranquilized and anesthetic state after feeding can be given the drug via epidermal inject means.
5. Throughout the execution process, the animal caretaker is to position and care for the animal by holding it with hands.
6. The executing veterinarian is to render a judgment using whose professional training ascertaining that an animal has lost consciousness and cognitive awareness to rapidly inject a sufficient amount of Pentobarbital sodium solution, a central spinal suppressant, as a general principle. However, with the consent of a central-rule municipality, county (city) municipality, other alternative humanitarian disposal means may be deployed that subject the animal to least fear and pain and also resulting in a quick death.
7. The executing veterinarian shall ascertain that an animal has indeed deceased and also remove the animal remains, avoiding other animals entering the operating area to witness the animal remains.
(IV) When outsourced euthanasia has been sought, there should be a proper execution monitoring mechanism.
(V) The chemicals adopted for the euthanasia shall be placed in proper safekeeping, placed under management by registered logbook, and the state of usage property documented, together with usage documentation properly retained.
VI. Animal remain disposition
(I) The general principle calls for incineration or burial, and if the carcasses cannot be destroyed at once, they should be put in cold storage (refrigeration) for preservation, and merged for disposal when reaching a certain number.
(II) Regardless of in-house disposition or outsourced processing, it is prudent to monitor precisely, and it is strictly forbidden to improperly dispose of the carcasses. 

Part Three. Standard management forms
I. The animal shelter photography application form
II. The animal management standard operating procedure diagram
III. The halfway shelter animal inventory/turnover form
IV. The animal delivery disclaimer
V. The shelter animal status record card
VI. The stray dog (cat) health and behavior evaluation sheet
VII. The animal reclaim notice
VIII. The animal reclaim affidavit
IX. The animal adoption affidavit
X. The shelter animal announcement
XI. The halfway shelter application form
XII. The consigned evaluation letter