The owner of a mountain resort in Chiayi County may have been raising bears illegally and serving dishes using some of their parts, a conservation group said.
Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) said on Friday the owner of the Chuanyuan Mountain Resort, Lin Chin-hsiu (林金修), was raising Malayan sun bears and Formosan black bears illegally, adding that there were reasons to believe that he had traded in and used the bears — both of which are endangered species — to prepare dishes.
DISHES
Chen said that Lin, and his father before him, had prepared such dishes at the resort since 1989, claiming that the animals were provided by Aboriginal hunters or smuggled from China.
Lin allegedly told a representative of the society visiting the resort that when the need arose, he would order one from an Aboriginal hunter two months in advance, Chen said.
Some bear paws were provided by Aboriginal hunters, Chen said, while others may have been smuggled from Myanmar, Vietnam and China.
Chen said the proof was “irrefutable” and that the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper had managed to buy a whole bear’s paw.
The society and the newspaper yesterday also produced evidence that the resort had prepared and sold bear’s paws.
Lin and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator and former Chiayi county commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), who had eaten a bear paw according to the Apple Daily report, strongly denied the claims.
Chiayi County Commissioner Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠) said the resort owner would be punished in accordance with the law if found guilty.
Agricultural authorities would be asked to take care of a captive Formosan black bear found at the resort, Chang said.
Lin Kuo-chang (林國彰), chief of the Forestry Bureau’s Wildlife Conservation Section, said that when investigators and police, accompanied by representatives from the county government and council, visited the resort yesterday, the owner was not there, but a captive Formosan black bear was found.
LAX ENFORCEMENT
Chen said that because of lax enforcement, the Chiayi County government and the council were effectively enabling the black market trade in protected species. She added that customs authorities may be facilitating the import of bear paws.
Lin Kuo-chang said his section consisted of only six employees and that the county government was the legally appointed authority in charge of wildlife protection.
He added, however, that his office would enhance communications with the county government and monitor law enforcement.
A representative of the Forestry Bureau said that illegal hunting, killing or trading in protected species carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of NT$1.5 million (US$46,800).
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