The Kaohsiung Harbor Police Department yesterday at the harbor seized 50 smuggled long-tailed chinchillas valued at NT$7.5 million (US$253,970).
The rodents, each worth NT$150,000 on the pet market, were seized after police officers Pan Shih-ying (潘詩盈) and Shen Ya-chin (沈雅欽) found them in a minivan at a harbor checkpoint, the department said.
The minivan’s driver, surnamed Yang (楊), appeared nervous and the officers heard animal noises coming from the back seat, prompting them to search the vehicle, the department said.
Photo copied by Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
The animals were likely smuggled from China, it said, adding that it was the largest number of illegally imported chinchillas the department has ever seized.
The department said it would hand over Yang, who has been detained, to prosecutors over contraventions of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保護法) and the Act for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例).
While chinchillas bred in captivity are not considered endangered animals in Taiwan, they must be checked for diseases by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine before they can be legally imported, according to the Forestry Bureau.
Chinchillas are native to the Andes mountains in South America, and live in rock crevices and caves at high elevations, the Taipei City Animal Protection Office said.
The rodents need extensive care, as their food has to be carefully selected and the temperature of their environment needs to be controlled, the office said.
Chinchillas are adapted to living in temperatures of 16°C to 18°C and have thick fur covering their entire body, and could die of heatstroke or heat exhaustion at higher temperatures, it said.
They can jump as high as 1.8m, so owners shold provide them with plenty of space, the office added.
Chinchillas have gained popularity in Taiwan in the past few years due to their docile disposition and appearance, which people liken to Totoro, the titular character from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animation My Neighbor Totoro.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS