The Kaohsiung Harbor Police Department yesterday at the harbor seized 50 smuggled long-tailed chinchillas valued at NT$7.5 million (US$253,970).
The rodents, each worth NT$150,000 on the pet market, were seized after police officers Pan Shih-ying (潘詩盈) and Shen Ya-chin (沈雅欽) found them in a minivan at a harbor checkpoint, the department said.
The minivan’s driver, surnamed Yang (楊), appeared nervous and the officers heard animal noises coming from the back seat, prompting them to search the vehicle, the department said.
Photo copied by Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
The animals were likely smuggled from China, it said, adding that it was the largest number of illegally imported chinchillas the department has ever seized.
The department said it would hand over Yang, who has been detained, to prosecutors over contraventions of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保護法) and the Act for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例).
While chinchillas bred in captivity are not considered endangered animals in Taiwan, they must be checked for diseases by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine before they can be legally imported, according to the Forestry Bureau.
Chinchillas are native to the Andes mountains in South America, and live in rock crevices and caves at high elevations, the Taipei City Animal Protection Office said.
The rodents need extensive care, as their food has to be carefully selected and the temperature of their environment needs to be controlled, the office said.
Chinchillas are adapted to living in temperatures of 16°C to 18°C and have thick fur covering their entire body, and could die of heatstroke or heat exhaustion at higher temperatures, it said.
They can jump as high as 1.8m, so owners shold provide them with plenty of space, the office added.
Chinchillas have gained popularity in Taiwan in the past few years due to their docile disposition and appearance, which people liken to Totoro, the titular character from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animation My Neighbor Totoro.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS