00:02Meet Unni, a 12-year-old raccoon living in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
00:07He has been having the time of his life,
00:10showered with endless pampering from his owner Joyce.
00:36Joyce spends much of her day caring for Unni,
00:39preparing his meals, cleaning his space,
00:41playing with him and making sure he gets plenty of attention.
00:45Pets like Unni are uncommon here in Taiwan,
00:48and starting this May, no more pet raccoons will be allowed in the country
00:52as the government moves to ban keeping these animals.
00:55Activists say this is because raccoons are potentially dangerous,
00:59despite their cute looks.
01:22Japan is now facing issues with wild invasive raccoons,
01:26which were once imported as pets for their adorable looks and then abandoned.
01:48Taiwan's new ban on owning exotic pets lists over 600 species that are considered high risk,
01:55as part of tighter animal welfare and public safety regulations.
01:59These include several kinds of venomous snakes and also saltwater crocodiles.
02:04Even so, some conservationists say the ban does not go far enough.
02:09They'd like to see species like meerkats and capybaras added to the list.
02:16Now, with this new ban in place, Wei Wei, the owner of Dian Dian,
02:20a three-year-old saltwater crocodile in Taoruan,
02:23says it's important for owners to be responsible and understand their pets.
02:44At the same time, Wei Wei feels it's sad that younger generations
02:51won't be able to have a rare and exotic animal as a pet as she has.
03:07As for Joyce, who has spent more than a decade with Uni the raccoon,
03:11she is happy with the new rules.
03:41Now, this new ban does not mean
03:43people need to give up on their unusual pets.
03:46It requires current owners to register their pet with local authorities within a year.
03:51And there will be inspections to make sure animals are being properly cared for.
03:55So Grandpa Uni here won't need to worry about being separated from his loving owner
04:01and can look forward to some more years of pampering to come.
04:05Hang Xiong Sanichi for Taon Plus.
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