Nearly 6,000kg of illegally imported veterinary drugs were seized in Pingtung County, some allegedly from China and India, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday, adding that it is tracing their whereabouts and would recall them from the market.
It is likely the biggest case of illegal veterinary drug imports, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
The Pingtung Animal Disease Control Center, in collaboration with the Kaohsiung Police Department and the Coast Guard Administration, on May 29 searched a veterinary medicine dealer’s office in Sinpi Township (新埤) and warehouse on a farmland in Chaojhou Township (潮州) after being tipped off about the illegal operation.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung Animal Disease Control Center
Investigators seized more than 40 types of illegally imported medicines — including pharmaceutical ingredients for making antibiotics such as amoxicillin and cephalosporin, as well as nitrofuran and roxarsone, which are banned in the nation, the bureau said.
Without passing safety and efficacy testing, illegal drugs might be applied in excessive dosage and contain toxic heavy metal substances, jeopardizing animal health and the quality of animal products, it said.
The county government has revoked the dealer’s permit and on July 10 forwarded the case to the Pingtung Disrict Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation, it said.
The dealer might have sold the drugs to animal farms in central and southern Taiwan, and the bureau is working with judicial agencies to compile its sales data and possibly the drugs, it said.
People convicted of illegally importing and selling banned veterinary drugs could face a jail term of one to seven years or a fine of up to NT$4.5 million (US$144,769) under the Veterinary Drugs Control Act (動物用藥品管理法), it said.
Those caught using banned veterinary drugs face a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, and repeat offenders within a year would be fined between NT$500,000 and NT$2.5 million, it said.
To make sure they use legal products, husbandry farms should check drug labels for information such as the manufacturer, government permits and effective date, or visit the bureau’s Web site for a list of approved medicine, it added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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