The Ministry of Agriculture said it is mulling a comprehensive ban on deadly traps to protect wild animals, as it last week announced a hotline for reporting traps.
People who spot traps should call the 1959 animal protection hotline so specialists can disarm them, Department of Animal Welfare Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said.
Mechanical traps are indiscriminate and pose a danger to people, pets and protected species, he said, adding that they could inflict irreparable harm.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture
The ministry called on the public to aid in their campaign to ban traps, which aims to facilitate environmental protection and public safety, Chiang said.
Most traps are laid in the mountains so it is hard to identify the culprits, he said, adding that the government was only able to fine 15 trappers last year.
Counties and cities have removed 2,100 traps over the same period, Chiang said.
However, he cautioned people not to approach or attempt to disarm traps themselves and said that taking a geotagged photo is safer and more effective.
Trapping contravenes Article 14 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, an offense punishable by a NT$15,000 to NT$70,000 fine, he said.
The law allows indigenous Taiwanese to use traps, but the ministry is considering abolishing the exception by proposing an amendment, Chiang said.
Farmers are urged to use traps that restrain animals instead of killing them or to invest in electrified fences to keep wildlife out, he said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS