2025-9-19

The 14th Asia for Animals (AfA) Conference was held in Taiwan from August 25 to 29. The event was hosted by the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, the Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Taiwan Human-Animal Studies Institute.

The AfA Conference is Asia’s leading animal protection meeting. This year, it was held in Taiwan for the first time, marking an important milestone in Taiwan’s promotion of animal protection. In a demonstration of the importance that the government attaches to animal protection, President Lai Ching-te addressed the opening ceremony. The event delivered a strong message to the international community regarding Taiwan’s determination to improve animal welfare. 

The conference was attended by leading international animal protection activists including Dave Neale, a director at Animals Asia, and Sarah Grant and Sirjana Nijar, AfA Co-CEOs. This year, the conference theme was “reflections and breaking boundaries.” Detailed discussion covered key topics including management of free roaming animals, economic use of animals, animals in laboratories, wild and aquatic animal welfare, and animals used for entertainment. 

Matt Backhouse, global expert at the Four Paws organization, shared examples of failed strategies in stray animal management from Southeast Asia. In his presentation, he analyzed what went wrong and drew lessons from the mistakes. Meanwhile, Dave Neale shared the experience of signing an MOU to stop elephant riding in Vietnam’s Yok Don National Park. He explained how his foundation had assisted local operators convert to ethical tourism and promoted a community campaign to end elephant riding tourism in Dak Lak Province.