1. Taiwan free of goat pox, vaccine requirement lifted

Goats would no longer need to be vaccinated against the goat pox virus from Jan. 1, 2023 as the nation has successfully contained an outbreak that began in 2008, the Council of Agriculture said. According to WOAH regulations, if a country has not had an incident for 3 years since the last reported case, or if the government has continually implemented a slaughter policy for all infected goats, it can apply for disease-free status 6 months after the last infected sheep or goat has been put down.The council said that Taiwan meets all conditions for disease-free status, and on Jan. 1 would stop administering the vaccine.

2. COA launches 1959 animal rescue hotline

On December 28^th, the Council of Agriculture launched a hotline, in conjunction with local governments across Taiwan that will allow members of the public to report and seek assistance in situations when animals are found injured, abused or attack people.People can dial 1959 from a cellphone, landline or online phone to report incidents and they will be directed to the nearest relevant authority in a more streamlined manner, the COA said.