Taiwan People's Party city council candidate Lin Yu-kai says both major-party candidates for Kaohsiung mayor are weak on animal protection, and he is pushing six proposals of his own.

• The DPP candidate's plan is really about business — pet-friendly spaces, big expos, and a "pet economy" brand for the city.
• The KMT candidate's plan turns animal volunteers into social workers and sends pets into elder and youth care programs; only the life-education part counts as real animal protection.
• Lin's six proposals focus on wildlife: checking construction projects for damage to habitats and requiring companies to make up for it.
• He also wants key habitats blocked from development, heavier penalties for smuggling rare turtles, green-label food given priority in school kitchens, and stray dogs actively managed in sensitive nature areas.
• Lin says he entered politics because of animals and earlier pushed for owner-responsibility training before people can buy a pet, but industry pushback watered the rule down to optional.

Outlook: Animal welfare looks set to stay a side issue in the Kaohsiung race unless voters press the two front-runners for firmer commitments.