National Parks of Taiwan

The “Everything in the Right Place: Protecting Wildlife through Animal Conservation” Exhibition moved to the Visitor Center at the Shoushan National Nature Park in Kaohsiung on April 19, 2024, and will be exhibiting there until November 17. Entrance is free from Tuesdays to Sundays as well as on national holidays, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The exhibition is closed on Mondays. This exhibition is a collaboration between the NGO Let’s Go Supporting and the National Nature Park Headquarters, National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior.

Georny Liu, the curator of this exhibition, said that the idea for the exhibition came to her when she heard a lecture by Asst. Prof. Shih-Ching Yen from National Tsing Hua University on conflicts between stray dogs and wildlife on Yangmingshan. As a long-term proponent of the trap-neuter-release (TNR) strategy for stray animals, Georny Liu realized that, in fact, people have abandoned their responsibility to care for dogs and cats when these stray animals are living by themselves in the wild.

The exhibition emphasizes the point that improperly feeding stray animals may cause problems such as the spread of disease, roadkill, and changes to wild animals’ feeding habits. Georny Liu is acutely aware that it is not possible to change people’s mentalities overnight. However, it is hoped that this exhibition will help remind the public that, in addition to caring for our pets, it is also important to care about the ecological balance associated with wildlife conservation.

The exhibition was invited by the National Nature Park Headquarters to exhibit in Kaohsiung. Georny Liu was deeply moved by the exhibition in Taipei, which is why she hopes that people in southern Taiwan can also see this exhibition for themselves. The exhibition explains complicated topics to visitors through vivid illustrations and simple language.

Shoushan National Nature Park is located near urban areas, which has led to the constant thorny issue of stray dogs coming into conflict with wildlife. Despite the National Nature Park Headquarters’ attempt to manage the stray dog population through the TNR approach, many challenges still remain. Long-term observations have shown that the rate of growth of stray dog packs has slowed, the populations of wild animals such as Reeves's muntjac have significantly fallen. Over 10 dead Reeves's muntjacs are found every year, mostly victims of stray dog attacks.

National Nature Park Headquarters staff noted that Reeves's muntjacs are particularly vulnerable to attacks and harm from stray dogs. This is because stray dogs and cats’ prey drives may cause them to actively attack wildlife if they are fed to satiety due to improper feeding by members of the public. Thus, one of the goals of this exhibition is to enhance the public’s knowledge and care toward the environment, and to remind pet owners to not bring their pets to the mountains, abandon their pets, or allow their pets to run free, and to always keep their dogs on leashes when they’re outside. Furthermore, the exhibition also reminds people to not feed stray animals or wildlife. It is hoped that this exhibition will help improve the general public’s understanding of pets and wild animals, thereby ensuring that both types of animals can coexist in peace.

By properly caring for pets, we will also be able to indirectly protect wildlife such as leopard cats, Reeves's muntjacs, and eastern grass owls. We must all work together and do our parts to protect animals and their environments through tangible action and care.