Prosecutors appeal acquittal of Indigenous men in killing of black bears

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday appealed the acquittal of nine Indigenous men from Pingtung County's Labuwan Tribe in connection with the killing of four Formosan black bears and other endangered animals.

The nine men, who were charged with violating the Wildlife Conservation Act over the killings between 2020 and 2022, were acquitted by Pingtung District Court on Nov. 26, which cited Article 21-1 of the act exempting Indigenous people from penalties for hunting or killing wildlife for "non-profit personal use."

In a news release, prosecutors said the clause should not be used to shield willful killings of wildlife, arguing that Indigenous hunting rights are legally protected only when exercised in accordance with traditional tribal culture, not as a blanket exemption allowing the killing of animals for entertainment solely on the basis of Indigenous status.

According to a news release at their indictment in April 2023, one of the bears was shot by one of the suspects while gathering herbs, while a second was surrounded by five men and shot and the third was caught in a snare and shot three times.

In the fourth incident, the bear was shot dead, after which two men carried its body on a motorcycle while a third filmed them laughing and handling the carcass, which was later hung at the entrance of a residence in the village.

The release added that the incidents took place 16, 16, 4.2 and 0.4 kilometers from the village where the men lived and therefore did not constitute intrusions into a residential area.

In Wednesday's release, prosecutors said the incidents in the case showed a lack of respect for life and engaged in cruelty rather than cultural practice.

Prosecutors added that some of the incidents occurred during the tribe's "root-seeking activity," a period when hunting is prohibited, yet the defendants still took firearms into the mountains to hunt, an act that violated their own tribal rules and could not be considered part of traditional culture.

Within three years, the nine men killed four bears, five Formosan Sambar Deer and three Formosan Serow, all of which are protected or endangered species, exceeding any reasonable definition of maintaining survival and traditional rituals, prosecutors said.

The ruling failed to distinguish between "personal illicit behavior" and "collective cultural practice," which was not only a misjudgment but harmful to indigenous people truly following hunting rules, prosecutors said.

The appeal aims to correct the mistake and clarify the line between hunting cultural rights and conservation, they said.

Mai Yung-cheng (麥庸正), village chief and one of the defendants, said he respected the decision, adding that hunting culture is embedded in the villagers' major life rituals, and they do not selectively kill certain species nor wantonly kill.