A man has been referred to prosecutors for further investigation after being arrested for allegedly harassing an endangered red-crowned crane that flew to Taiwan late last year, animal protection officials said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Monday last week, when the man, surnamed Wei (魏), drove to the crane’s habitat in New Taipei City’s Sanjhih District (三芝), according to the city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office.
After discovering the bird, Wei stopped his car and began to walk toward it, disregarding attempts by animal protection personnel at the site to stop him, the office said.
As the intruder kept approaching, the bird had no choice but to fly away, the office said.
It said Wei’s offense is punishable under the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) by a jail term of up to one year and a fine of up to NT$300,000.
The crane, nicknamed “A-dan” (阿丹), appeared on a private farm in Sanjhih in late November last year, attracting many bird-watchers to the rural district.
However, because of the intrusive behavior of some visitors, animal protection activists set up a security line to try to protect the bird.
The red-crowned crane is a large East Asian crane measuring about 1.5m in height. It breeds in southeastern Russia, northeast China, Mongolia and eastern Hokkaido in Japan, and the migratory birds have been spotted in Taiwan.
The species is classified as endangered because its population is declining due to loss and degradation of wetlands caused by agriculture and industrial development, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species.
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