Despite calls to punish Premier Yu Shyi-kun for raising an animal classified as "rare and valuable," Yu will not be fined after saving the life of an indigenous turtle.
"We won't mete out any punishment, because no laws have really been broken and the animal had been handled in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Law (野生動物保育法)," said Fang Kuo-yun (方國運), director of the conservation division of the Council of Agriculture's forestry bureau.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE FORESTRY BUREAU
According to Fang, the premier received the yellow-lined box turtle from one of his friends, who found it while travelling from Yu's hometown in Ilan County to Taipei on May 9.
"He was afraid it would be run over on the Peiyi Freeway, so he picked it up and brought it to Taipei. The Premier's Office later discovered that it's classified as a `rare and valuable' species and immediately informed the agriculture council," Fang said.
The council relocated the turtle to the Taipei City Zoo's wild animal shelter. Zoo authorities said that the female turtle, with an estimated age of between 15 and 20 years, was in bad condition and suffered from bacterial infection.
According to Fang, the animal has started eating normally and is gaining weight. Officials plan to set it free in its natural habitat near the Feitsui Reservoir when it has fully recovered.
But Taipei City Councilor Tai Hsi-chin (戴錫欽) of the People First Party accused Yu of breaking the law by raising a protected species without informing the authorities. He demanded that the premier be fined.
People keeping endangered animals illegally are liable to a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000.
Yellow-lined box turtles, the only land turtle endemic to Taiwan, are classified as a "rare and valuable" species under the Wildlife Conservation Law. The law divides animals requiring protection into three categories: endangered, rare and valuable species and conservation-deserving wildlife.
Chen Tien-hsi (陳添喜), a biology research fellow at the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology in Keelung, said it was not unusual to see yellow-lined box turtles on public roads, especially near hillsides lower than 1000m above sea level.
"Instead of staying in the forest, they like to venture out into open areas such as public roads, especially after it's been raining, to look for food," Chen said.
"My study shows that there are about 500 yellow-lined box turtles near the Feitsui Reservoir and about 10,000 more scattered around Taiwan," Chen said.
According to Chen, turtle populations have been dwindling due to the disappearance of their natural habitat and rampant poaching.
Baby yellow-lined box turtles are sold -- illegally -- for about NT$2,000 each. Their shells are considered a potent medicine and aphrodisiac.
The turtles are easy to catch, and poachers bait them with their favorite foods or train their dogs to follow the reptiles' unique scent in the wilderness.
Yellow-lined box turtles are popular pets, because they are easy to raise and have stronger immune systems than their amphibious counterparts.
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