Taipei, February 18 (CNA) Taichung's Animal Protection and Health Inspection Bureau responded to a fire that killed more than 30 dogs and cats at a three-story townhouse in the city's Longjing District on Saturday night. announced that they would be launching an investigation.
The Taichung City Fire Department said it received a report of a fire in a 70 square meter rental townhouse just before 10 p.m., and dispatched 13 fire engines and 32 firefighters to the scene.
After extinguishing the fire at 10:31 p.m., firefighters found more than 40 dogs and cats in the building, of which only eight were rescued alive, the fire department said. It is said that
The Taichung City Animal Protection Bureau sent staff to inspect the townhouse on Sunday, but they were unable to enter as the fire department was investigating the cause of the fire, the Taichung City Agriculture Bureau said.
City officials also spoke with the animals' owners, who planned to contact pet funeral services to have their dead dogs and cats cremated, the Agriculture Department said.
The agency said the animal's owner was a private citizen and “did not keep more than the maximum number of pets” allowed by law, although the maximum number for a building the size of a townhouse was not specified.
Still, he said an investigation would be carried out to determine whether animal protection laws were violated.
