Taiwan animal welfare groups demand referendum on wild boar snares

台灣動保團體要求就山豬套索議題舉行公民投票

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Animal welfare groups submitted 12,000 petitions to the Central Election Commission Tuesday, calling for a referendum to ban wild boar snares.

The commission rejected a previous attempt in 2024, citing Indigenous hunting traditions and farmers’ concerns, per UDN. Campaigners argued that the traps catch animals indiscriminately, including protected species and pets.

The snares use spring-loaded metal wire to catch animals, sometimes mutilating them, the activists said. The referendum campaign includes demands for a complete ban on the use, possession, sale, exhibition, import, export, and manufacture of wild boar snares. A separate proposal requests amendments to the Animal Protection Act governing the manufacture and sale of the traps.

The activists said their current proposals differed from the rejected 2024 items because the new campaign specified metal traps, leaving traps made of natural materials such as bamboo and rattan out, UDN reported.

The campaigners suggested nets as an alternative for farmers looking to protect their livestock, while asking the government to set up a compensation system.