By KHT Staff
TAIWAN — Taiwan’s once-booming animal farm sector is showing signs of strain, as operators face softer domestic travel demand, intensifying competition, and tighter regulations on the keeping of exotic species. A report by United Daily News said the industry is now facing a wave of closures, particularly in Yilan County (宜蘭縣), which has the highest concentration of licensed animal exhibition operators in the country.
According to the report, Taiwan currently has 104 licensed animal exhibition businesses, with Yilan accounting for 25, followed by Tainan (台南市) with 14, Taoyuan (桃園市) with 10, Changhua County (彰化縣) with seven, and Kaohsiung (高雄市) and Pingtung County (屏東縣) with six each. The article said the market has become overcrowded, with many venues offering similar close-contact experiences involving animals such as capybaras and sika deer.
The report highlighted the closure of Yilan’s “Grandpa Deer” farm, which had invested approximately NT$40 million and once drew up to 1,500 visitors a day at its peak. It stated that attendance later fell to roughly one-tenth of that level, with the animals eventually being relocated to other sites, including Da Jen University (大仁科技大學) in Pingtung. Another recent scandal involving alleged poisoning at a rival farm also highlighted the increasingly cutthroat nature of the sector and renewed concerns over animal welfare.
Regulatory pressure is also increasing. New rules taking effect on May 1 will ban the private keeping of hundreds of dangerous species unless they are properly registered, with official reports putting the number at 641 species. Animal welfare advocates have warned that without adequate transition and shelter capacity, stricter rules combined with business failures could leave more captive animals without clear destinations.
As the market shifts, the broader question may be what kind of animal- or nature-based tourism will prove more sustainable. In Kaohsiung, City Councilor Kuo Chien-meng (郭建盟) recently highlighted the “Fantasy Flight Eco Garden” (螢光奇緣秘境) near Chengcing Lake (澄清湖), describing it as a place where visitors can see fireflies in the city during the spring and summer season. The contrast points to a different tourism model, one centered less on close-contact animal encounters and more on habitat-based nature experiences.
For Kaohsiung and Pingtung, the story is less about a confirmed local closure wave than about exposure to a broader national trend. If more operators exit the market, a central question will be whether local governments, schools, zoos, rescue groups, and agricultural institutions are prepared to absorb displaced animals in a safe and regulated way.
