Photographer and film director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), best known for his 2013 documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣), shocked fans when he was recently reportedly found to be in possession of endangered turtles.
Police said that Chi in July posted pictures on Facebook of the turtles, which netizens identified as yellow pond turtles — an endangered species — and promptly notified the authorities.
Police said they showed the photographs to experts at Taipei Zoo, who confirmed that the turtles are class-2 endangered animals.
Photo: courtesy of Taipei Police Department
Officials from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office went to Chi’s residence to investigate, but did not find the director.
After receiving permission from Chi’s parents to enter his home, the officials found and seized 11 Chinese box turtles, also known as yellow-margined box turtles, and two yellow pond turtles.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), people planning to keep or raise protected animals must apply for a permit with local authorities.
Failure to do so will result in fines of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 as well as seizure of the animals.
The animal protection office said Chi is out of the country, but it will arrange a date later for Chi to appear in court and explain the incident.
Tseng Chiung-yao (曾瓊瑤), the producer of Chi’s films, on Thursday said that Chi’s parents love to hike and tend to pick up animals they find on trails.
They have been raising those turtles for more than 10 years and Chi’s post of the turtles’ pictures on Facebook is proof that the family was not aware they are endangered animals, Tseng said.
Police said the parents claimed the turtles were Chi’s and that he began raising them after his pet dog died.
Chi’s parents did not know where the turtles came from, they added.
According to Forestry Bureau statistics, over the past three years conservation officials had seized 6,800 Chinese box turtles, while more than 5,000 yellow pond turtles had been smuggled to China.
Bureau officials said one yellow pond turtle can fetch more than NT$10,000, making them particularly vulnerable to smugglers.
The bureau advised the public to check its Web site for a list of endangered species to avoid unintentional violations and fines.
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