A task force comprising official and private organizations yesterday announced preliminary success in their efforts to reduce hunting and preserve gray-faced buzzard colonies.
"After one year of intensive work, we have managed to substantially reduce illegal hunting of the birds," Taiwan Solidarity Union legislative caucus whip Chen Yin-ho (陳銀河) told a press conference.
Chen said that the task force's goal "is to educate Taiwanese to cherish our annual migrating visitors and make Taiwan the best place for gray-faced buzzard eco-tourism."
The task force, convened by Chen, involves several governmental and private agencies, such as the Kenting National Park Administration Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, Pingtung County's Manjhou Township (
The gray-faced buzzard is an Asian medium-sized raptor, RRGT secretary-general Lin Wen-horn (
In summer, the birds reside in northern countries and areas such as Japan, Siberia, northeastern China and Korea, and in winter migrate to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
During the crossing, Taiwan hosts the largest colony of buzzards because of its geographic location, he said.
"Buzzards from several countries congregate at Pingtung County's Manjhou Township and disperse to different southern destinations; the record was about 36,000 in one year," he said. "However, hundreds each year are illegally hunted [for food] by mostly locals, who sell them to restaurants or individuals."
Majhou Township Secretary-General Yu Tseng-chun (余增春) said the illegal hunting might be linked to the town's poor economy.
"The birds sell for up to NT$1,000, which is not a small incentive for the locals," he said.
The township was the target of criticism from around the country last year after photographs of inhumane hunting practices appeared in the media, Lin said.
"I understand the financial hardship of the local community, but we should not sanction what is illegal," he said.
In the past year both local and central police dispatched patrols to arrest hunters, said Chen Hsin-en (
Lin said that bird-watchers this year have unanimously reported more bird sightings.
The conference yesterday also discussed a proposal to develop local eco-tourism for gray-faced buzzard-watching, which Yu said would be widely welcomed in the township.
"When people come visit Manjhou, they will realize that gray-faced buzzards are not our only assets," Yu said. "The township is also home to several Aboriginal tribes and boasts a rich culture."
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS