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Group accuses government of condoning trade in protected species
2010/07/31 19:23:58 |
Taipei, July 31 (CNA) An environmental group took Chiayi County and the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) to task Saturday, accusing them of condoning the trading of protected animals and questioning if Customs authorities are involved in the smuggling into Taiwan of bear paws.
Chen Yu-min, director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) , said that a restaurant in Chiayi County's Meishan Village has long advertised bear paw as its signature dish.
A day earlier, Chen blew the whistle on the Chuanyuan Villa, saying that two protected animals -- a Malay sun bear and a highly endangered Formosan black bear -- were being kept in cages there. The sun bear had already died, while the black bear required immediate care.
Chen said that Lin Heng-yi, the son of the villa's owner, Lin Chin-hsiu, told undercover EAST members who traveled to the restaurant to investigate that he usually obtains his bear paws from aboriginal people.
However, she said that EAST was informed that the villa had been offering dishes made from various protected species for more than two decades and that Lin does not only rely on aboriginal people for his bear paws, but also smuggles them from Myanmar, Vietnam and China.
Chen demanded a probe to see if Customs officials have been involved in the illicit trade.
In response, a COA official said the number of wildlife conservation officials is limited and that they will have to ask local governments to step up their fight against the outdated practice.
Lin Kuo-chang, chief of the Wildlife Conservation Section of COA's Forestry Bureau, noted that there are "only six members" in charge of wildlife conservation in the Forestry Bureau and that the Chiayi county government is still the local authority in charge of wildlife conservation.
As for the smuggling allegations, the Coast Guard Administration is responsible for cracking down on smuggled agricultural and fishery products, live animals, tobacco and alcohol, according to Lin.
He also noted that according to the Wildlife Conservation Law, the country's aboriginal people can apply to hunt animals, including protected onces, but are forbidden from selling or buying them.
Illegal hunters of protected animals, irrespective of whether they are aboriginal people or not, face prison terms of between six months and five years, and fines of over NT$200,000 (US$6,230)
People trading in protected species, whether they are aboriginal people or not, can be sentenced to between six months and five years and can be fined between NT$300,000 and NT$1.5 million. (By Yang Shu-min and Lilian Wu) ENDITEM/J
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