Man's best friend is postal worker's worst enemy - Taiwan

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Taipei, March 3 (CNA) For postman Lin Tan-tao, dogs pose an even greater risk to his work than high winds, rainstorms or sandstorms.

Lin, who has more than 30 years of experience delivering mail, told a press conference at the legislature Thursday that, in spite of assurances from dog owners that their pets are harmless, he has been bitten several times. In fact, he believes house dogs are much more difficult to cope with than stray dogs, because dog owners would often side with the welfare of their pets, rather than show concern for the safety of those who deliver their mail.

"My trousers were torn and broken, and my legs were injured, " he said, recalling the aftermath of one of many attacks on him.

Lin Kun-fu, chairman of Chunghwa Post's mail delivery and management division, lent figures to show how vulnerable his workers have become. According to Lin, the past three years saw 2,500 postal workers bitten by dogs, and more than 3,000 who have reportedly been hounded and chased while performing their duties.

Chunghwa has a total of 8,000 postal workers overall.

Legislator Lu Shiow-yen of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), who held the press conference to draw awareness to this problem, quoted Chunghwa Post as saying that 80 percent of the dogs that attacked postal staff were unleashed household pets, while only 20 percent were strays.

Chunghwa Post has also reported that some of its workers have been attacked by turkeys and pet pigs.

Throughout the press conference, more stories from the front surfaced.

Union Chairman Shen Ying-chieh quoted a union member, who recalled a dog incident in which he picked up a pipe and drummed it against the ground in order to scare away the attacking dog. The dog owner subsequently accused the postman of intentionally "trying to scare my dog."

The owner went on to blog about the incident on his website, demanding that the postman apologize and provide compensation if his dog fell ill as a result of "being frightened" by the big noise from the pipe.

Lu, the KMT legislator, cited another incident of a postman throwing a stone at a dog, injuring its right leg. This angered the dog's master, who charged the postman for violating the animal protection law, a violation that can carry a NT$15,000 fine. The postman ended up paying NT$1,500 to settle with the owner and pay for the dog's medical expenses.

Hsiao Ti-sheng, a board member of the worker's union, said that stray dogs in the countryside were probably the most dangerous for postal workers, because they would form an "attacking force" and attack in packs.

"Taiwan Power Co.'s fee collecting personnel used to be victims of stray dog attacks, too," Hsiao said.

The conference ended with several concluding points from its speakers.

Lin Kun-fu said his company will help postal workers by demanding that dog owners take responsibility if their dogs attack his employees.

Lin Tzung-yi, an official with the Council of Agriculture, said dog owners have a duty to rein in their dogs to keep them from hurting people.

He pointed out that even though provisions exist against harassing, maltreating or hurting animals, defense against dog attacks is justified, as in the case of postmen doing their jobs, and will be exempted from legal punishment.

"The dogs could be confiscated if the owners won't listen to advisories and warnings, " said Lin, quoting from the Animal Protection Act.

Legislator Lu, the host of the event, urged pet owners to recognize the hard work of postal employees, and to keep them safe from attacks from their own pets