People in Kinmen County should stop directing bright lights at sea otters at night when sightseeing, to avoid disrupting the natural environment, conservationists said.
Volunteers and law enforcement officials on multiple occasions last year spotted people using powerful lights to look for sea otters in the Taihu (太湖) area, the Kinmen Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation Association said in a report on Jan. 31.
This behavior — sometimes encouraged or tolerated by tour guides — contravenes the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) and is punishable by fines, the association said.
Photo: CNA
Bright lights at night can make otters feel unsafe and abandon the area, which could diminish the local population or lead to an increase in otter deaths from collisions with vehicles on the road, it said.
A study it conducted showed that the number of otters on the island declined to 100 to 150, the association said.
A westward migration of otters from Taihu could cause an imbalance in the species’ distribution in Kinmen and endanger their survival, it said.
Tourism based on observing wildlife is a positive activity, but people must avoid behaviors that would damage the environment, it said.
The association said that last year it treated 322 avians, of which 71 died on arrival, and 366 snakes, of which 35 died.
The association urged people not to keep wild animals as pets, saying that they could stop eating food out of distress, get aggressive or spread zoonotic diseases.
People can dial 911 if they see an injured snake, call 118 to summon help for stranded whales, dolphins and sea turtles, and contact the association to deal with dead or wounded otters via Facebook or by dialing 082-333-587, it said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe