The Yangmingshan National Park Service on Wednesday said it would appeal a NT$75,000 fine from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office, which accused the park of causing the deaths of water buffaloes by corralling them with fences.
In the past few months, 24 dead water buffaloes have been found in Yangmingshan (陽明山), the office said.
The park service rejected the city government’s characterization that it was holding the water buffaloes in captivity, saying that it was only building new fences to keep the animals from trampling on farmlands within the park.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
“The fences were established to protect natural resources and public safety. We question the office’s ruling and would seek judicial remedies at the administrative courts,” it said.
The park service does not own the buffaloes, it added.
The buffaloes’ frequent intrusion onto farmlands and mountain roads have compromised traffic safety and caused farmers financial losses, the park service said.
Borough wardens have filed complaints with the Taipei City Government and other agencies about the matter, but to no avail, it said.
To address the issue, the park service held an interdepartmental meeting on March 1, 2018, during which no agency was willing to take charge of dealing with the water buffaloes, it said.
“Out of respect to other government agencies and our neighbors, we promised to help replace barbed wire fences set up by the Taipei Farmers’ Association with new fences, which would keep visitors from harassing water buffaloes and prevent the animals from roaming onto farmlands or roads,” the park service said.
Experts at a meeting organized by the Taipei City Animal Protection Office on Dec. 21 reached a preliminary conclusion that the deaths might have something to do with the poor quality of the food they had consumed, which resulted in malnutrition, the park service said.
They also pointed to the herd size, climate change and receding vegetation cover as related factors leading to the long-term malnutrition of water buffaloes, it added.
Bodies of dead buffaloes were found in scattered locations, not just around the fences, the park service said, adding that experts had pointed out during the meeting that this showed that the animals did not die as a result of the fences.
The park service said that there has yet to be a determination on which agency would be responsible for the water buffaloes.
After the farmers’ association closed the Yangmingshan Ranch in 2016, the remaining unclaimed water buffaloes became feral.
In an official letter to the Taipei City Animal Protection Office in 2018, the Council of Agriculture told it that the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) would not apply to these water buffaloes if it is determined that no one owns or manages them.
In that scenario, the park service could manage them as part of natural resources in the park, the council said.
This shows that government agencies disagree on whether the act can be cited for the management of feral animals, the park service said.
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