Pingtung County’s Manzhou Township (滿州) Mayor Chuang Chi-wen (莊期文) proposed corralling Formosan sika deer living in the Kenting (墾丁) region after repeated complaints over the agricultural damage caused by the deer have gone unanswered by the government.
There are about 2,000 Formosan sika deer in the region, many of which are moving north, presumably due to a shortage of food caused by overpopulation, the Manzhou Township Council said.
Large groups of deer have moved into the vicinity of Donggang Township (東港) and have been seen near black soya bean and dragon fruit farms, Chuang said, adding that any further movements to the north — toward the Nanjenshan (南仁山) Ecological Conservation Area — would be an ecological disaster for Kenting National Park.
The “errant deer” must be detained, Chuang said.
Chuang proposed that a “detention center” be established to contain deer caught on agricultural lands, adding that the center should be open to tourists so that it could generate funds that would be distributed to farmers as compensation for their losses.
He said that the concept was modeled after modern correction facilities, where criminals serving their sentences produce goods, such as handcrafted items or soy sauce, to be sold.
The township is also considering the possibility of sterilizing captured male deer to help control their population, Chuang said.
The parks built for the conservation of Formosan sika deer are mostly empty, while wild deer are causing damage to farms, Chuang said.
The township has earmarked a certain amount of money for the construction of facilities to contain sika deer that have ventured into fields, Chuang said, adding that the deer are to be captured using non-lethal methods.
Kenting National Park Administration Office Director Liu Pei-tung (劉培東) said the office could only provide aid in the form of setting up barriers around farms.
Academics are looking for solutions, such as short-term contraceptive medication, to be used on the deer, Liu said, adding that the office is also looking into improved methods of setting up barriers to prevent the deer from venturing into fields.
The office said it is willing to let the township go ahead with its plan, but added that the township might want to conduct research on how to capture the deer and increase the funds it set aside for the center.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS