Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) A carnival-like parade of more than 500 participants masquerading as animals was held in Taipei Saturday to promote conservation awareness in Taiwan.
The presence of Jane Goodall, a well-known British conservationist, highlighted the 2006 Roots and Shoots Animal Parade.
"The parade tries to promote animal protection and conservation awareness through observation and understanding of animals in a celebration, instead of in the form of a protest, because it is targeted at children, " said Chen Meng-ke of the Jane Goodall Institute Taiwan, the event organizer.
In most cases, animal abuse results from a lack of understanding of what other people do or the stories behind the scenes, Goodall told hundreds of students in a speech after the parade.
The parade and speeches were a part of the Roots and Shoots program, an educational program established by Goodall to instill environmental and conservation awareness in the younger generation.
Goodall, 72, is a primatologist and anthropologist best-known for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social life. She is on her ninth visit to Taiwan.