The Yangmingshan National Park Service on Wednesday said it would appeal a NT$75,000 fine from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office, which accused the park of causing the deaths of water buffaloes by corralling them with fences.
In the past few months, 24 dead water buffaloes have been found in Yangmingshan (陽明山), the office said.
The park service rejected the city government’s characterization that it was holding the water buffaloes in captivity, saying that it was only building new fences to keep the animals from trampling on farmlands within the park.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
“The fences were established to protect natural resources and public safety. We question the office’s ruling and would seek judicial remedies at the administrative courts,” it said.
The park service does not own the buffaloes, it added.
The buffaloes’ frequent intrusion onto farmlands and mountain roads have compromised traffic safety and caused farmers financial losses, the park service said.
Borough wardens have filed complaints with the Taipei City Government and other agencies about the matter, but to no avail, it said.
To address the issue, the park service held an interdepartmental meeting on March 1, 2018, during which no agency was willing to take charge of dealing with the water buffaloes, it said.
“Out of respect to other government agencies and our neighbors, we promised to help replace barbed wire fences set up by the Taipei Farmers’ Association with new fences, which would keep visitors from harassing water buffaloes and prevent the animals from roaming onto farmlands or roads,” the park service said.
Experts at a meeting organized by the Taipei City Animal Protection Office on Dec. 21 reached a preliminary conclusion that the deaths might have something to do with the poor quality of the food they had consumed, which resulted in malnutrition, the park service said.
They also pointed to the herd size, climate change and receding vegetation cover as related factors leading to the long-term malnutrition of water buffaloes, it added.
Bodies of dead buffaloes were found in scattered locations, not just around the fences, the park service said, adding that experts had pointed out during the meeting that this showed that the animals did not die as a result of the fences.
The park service said that there has yet to be a determination on which agency would be responsible for the water buffaloes.
After the farmers’ association closed the Yangmingshan Ranch in 2016, the remaining unclaimed water buffaloes became feral.
In an official letter to the Taipei City Animal Protection Office in 2018, the Council of Agriculture told it that the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) would not apply to these water buffaloes if it is determined that no one owns or manages them.
In that scenario, the park service could manage them as part of natural resources in the park, the council said.
This shows that government agencies disagree on whether the act can be cited for the management of feral animals, the park service said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS