Investigators yesterday intercepted a Taiwanese fishing boat carrying more than 4,500 smuggled birds from China, as health experts warned of the potential for a devastating outbreak of avian flu in Taiwan.
The Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB) and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday conducted a joint operation to nab the smugglers.
"The Kaohsiung-based fishing boat Yung Gi Fa attempted to smuggle several species of birds in from Fujian Province, some of which initially came from Southeast Asia -- an area affected by avian flu," the CGA said in a press release yesterday.
"The more than 4,500 birds included thrushes, Indian grackles, canaries, white eyes and others," the statement said.
The CGA said the species carried by the smugglers were potential carriers of avian flu. The birds would have gone to bird markets if investigators had not uncovered the smuggling, the CGA said.
The CGA personnel and reporters covering the story were all asked to wear surgical masks when they entered the room in which the birds were being kept.
The birds would be destroyed soon, the CGA said.
The MJIB and CGA learned that the fishing boat Yung Gi Fa was attempting to smuggle a large number of birds from China, and yesterday morning, law enforcement officials were able to track the boat as it entered Kaohsiung Harbor.
Investigators arrested the captain of the fishing boat, Chen Sze-fu (
President Chen Shui-bian (
The president therefore ordered the government to conduct strict surveillance and interdiction operations in the area, focusing especially on illegally imported animals and products.
The CGA has launched a crackdown on Chinese vessels intruding into waters off the islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu to counter smuggling of animals and products.
The Department of Health has warned there was a serious risk of avian flu breaking out in Taiwan between January and March next year, and a US health agency has predicted as many as 14,000 Taiwanese deaths in the event of an outbreak.
Department officials have said a simulation by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted 5.3 million Taiwanese -- nearly one-quarter of the population -- could be infected by avian flu, of which 70,000 would be hospitalized and 14,000 would perish.
Chen has said the avian-flu virus might become capable of human-to-human transmission, which could result in a more serious impact than SARS, the government should learn lessons from the past and take effective action in advance.
Department officials said if bird flu breaks out in Taiwan, its impact on the country is expected to be around 10 times greater than that of SARS in 2003.
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