| Abstract |
This paper examines seaport animal quarantine policies in Taiwan during the early years of Japanese colonial rule, the purpose of the paper being to determine the effectiveness of these policies in preventing the arrival of harmful viruses from abroad. As can be seen in the provisions of the Regulations for the Prevention of Animal Diseases of Taiwan, animal disease prevention in Taiwan during the early years of Japanese colonial rule mirrored policies that were then practiced in Japan, where particular emphasis was placed on containing the intrusion of viruses from abroad. In order to prevent animal diseases from being brought by live pigs from China, the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan attached great importance to the work of seaport quarantine. In spite of these efforts, and in spite of the publicity campaign launched by the Governor-General Office, initial results appear to have been unsuccessful. Gradually, however, thanks to the help provided by the Taiwan Livestock Insurance Co., Ltd., seaport animal quarantine efforts began to achieve better results, and contagious diseases brought by live pigs imported from China were effectively halted. On the other hand, live pigs imported from Japan were at first only checked sporadically, at specific times and at specific places, only when there was a concern that virus intrusions could harm human health. But as live pigs began to be imported from Japan on a regular basis, and as the number increased, the government began to impose routine quarantines on them, just as it did with live pigs imported from China. As a result of these efforts, the threat of foreign virus intrusions diminished significantly. In a nutshell, the seaport animal quarantine in the early years of Japanese colonial rule played a significant role in preventing virus intrusions from abroad. |
