Most people have questions in mind when they consider reporting animal abuse cases, such as “what kind of information should I provide? What kind of photo are needed? Here are the answers to these questions!
In order for investigators to proceed with investigation effectively and smoothly, we need informants to provide the following:
1. Informant’s name, email and phone number
Every reported case to Taiwan SPCA is anonymous, which means Taiwan SPCA will not, and should not, reveal any informant’s information without his or hers consent. The contact information is to be used for investigation purposes only. Contact information is to enable us to reach informants immediately to verify the authenticity of reported cases.
2.Detailed information of cases
Reports such as “I think a dog is being beaten, I seem to hear a dog crying somewhere, there’s a cat on the roadside” will cause investigators a huge amount of time and effort to gather further information. So please, when reporting a case, make sure to provide the exact location, the time, and the assistance you hope SPCA to provide. Such as “I saw a dog in “place,address”, and he has been kept in a very narrow cage for a long time (time), I hope Taiwan SPCA can go take a look and educate the owner”. Or “On month/day, at what time, at location (where) I saw a middle aged man wearing black clothes and blue jeans (information of suspected abuser) holding a baseball bat hitting a stray dog, please send an investigator to survey”. Detailed information is very important for any investigation.
3. Offer evidence
Basic evidence can be photos or audio/video recordings. Nowadays almost everyone has a cell phone that has picture and video functions, which makes it very easy for informants to collect photos of the animal’s situation and living environment as well as the address and any other important information. By submitting all this evidence when reporting, you will help investigators understand the whole background of the case and allow us to classify the case properly. Since there is a lot of software available to modify photos and change its authenticity, it is best if videos can be provided.
Finally, we ask all informants to be patient and trust that we will attend to every case reported. The Taiwan SPCA will be sympathetic and reasonable when dealing with all cases, as well as follow the current animal protection laws in Taiwan. Oftentimes we are not capable of investigating a case immediately or removing the animal right away due to a back up of cases, lack of investigators and funding, but do not fear, the case will be investigated. (Currently The Taiwan SPCA does not have a shelter in Taiwan, thus we rely solely on adopters and fosters to help home abused animals.) One investigation may take a couple of days, or weeks, or even months to complete, therefore we need the informants’ willingness to offer updated information and to pay attention to any changes to the animal’s situation to help with the investigation. We strongly believe that the reason informants come to us is because they truly want to change the animals’ lives. We hope that informants can help the SPCA by continuously monitoring the case even after it’s been reported to us. We need everyone’s help to improve the welfare of animals in Taiwan!
To report animal abuse or request information regarding abuse, please click here
