The Coast Guard Administration on Saturday intercepted 2,626 protected turtles being smuggled to China, seizing them and handing them over to the Forestry Bureau for emergency treatment and examination.
The bureau said the turtles were found hidden inside paper boxes of squids at Kaohsiung Harbor (高雄港), ready to ship to China.
Wu Sheng-hai (吳聲海), an associate professor of National Chung Hsing University’s department of life sciences, verified the turtle species and found there to be 1,446 yellow-margined box turtles (aka. snake-eating turtle) and 1,180 Asian brown pond turtles — both listed under rare valuable species according to the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
Twelve of the snake-eating turtles were dead and several other turtles were dehydrated, so the turtles will remain at the school for medical treatment and observation, before they are released back into their original habitats.
The snake-eating turtles are terrestrial turtles that can grow to about 19cm long, while the Asian brown pond turtles are aquatic and can grow to about 21cm long.
Both species are listed as rare valuable species as their habitats are being destroyed by overdevelopment and smuggling to China for food or pets, it added.
Under the Wildlife Conservation Act, smuggling conserved wild animals may incur imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine of up to NT$1.5 million (US$50,000).
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS