Thousands of protected turtles rescued from being smuggled to China are crowded into a temporary shelter under poor conditions, animal rights’ advocates said yesterday, urging the government to impose heavier punishments on smugglers of protected animals.
Government statistics showed 9,336 China-bound Asian yellow pond turtles and yellow margined box turtles (also known as “snake-eating turtles”) — rare and endangered species that are protected in Taiwan — had been rescued between 2006 and this year, but the actual number being smuggled was probably much higher, the Life Conservationist Association said.
More than 5,000 turtles were rescued in just two months — 1,446 snake-eating turtles and 1,180 Asian yellow pond turtles in August and 1,358 snake-eating turtles and 1,081 Asian yellow pond turtles in September — association executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said.
Photo: CNA
Although the Forestry Bureau commissioned Wu Sheng-hai (吳聲海), an associate professor in National Chung Hsing University’s department of life sciences, to shelter and treat the intercepted turtles before releasing them in their original habitats, the school’s limited resources cannot support such an enormous number of turtles, the association said.
The light punishment does not deter smugglers, it said.
“Sometimes the bureau suddenly calls and says that it needs shelter for about 2,000 turtles, and the turtles fill up our small shelter space immediately — averaging 30 or more turtles in every ping [3.3m2] — which gives them a very poor quality of life,” Wu said.
Showing photographs of grayish turtles covered in mud and piled on top one another in nets and boxes, Wu said the shelter was originally intended for birds that had been injured and were unable to fly.
It was not designed to house a huge number of turtles, he said.
“They like to stay in shaded areas, and you can see that because the shelter space is limited, they end up crowded together in the corners,” he said.
Many turtles were dehydrated, starved or injured by the time they were rescued, and some needed to be fed with feeding tubes, he said.
The turtles need a better environment to recover, but due to limited resources and space, “the survival rate of the turtles [in the shelter] has always been low,” Wu said.
The survival rate this year is only about 40 percent, the association said.
Forestry Bureau wildlife conservation section head Lin Kuo-chang (林國彰) said the agency would find additional space for at least 1,500 turtles before the end of the year.
Lin also urged the public to report any cases of smuggling to local conservation bureaus.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS