The death of a baboon that was captured on Monday after wandering around southern Taoyuan for more than two weeks is a “tragedy of Taiwan’s disorderly administration,” a New Power Party (NPP) legislator wrote on Facebook on Monday night.
The baboon was on the loose for 18 days before it was shot by a tranquilizer gun and captured. It later died of a prior injury from a gunshot allegedly fired by a licensed hunter from Hsinchu County.
The Hsinchu County Government said that the hunter was only told to “stand by” should the animal reach the county.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
“The death of the baboon was not a farce. It was a tragedy resulting from a disorderly administration,” NPP Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said. “The problem in Taiwan is that everyone has something to say when it comes to animals, but nobody has the authority to do anything for them.”
Zoos in Taiwan are not regulated by zoologists, Chiu said.
Taipei Zoo is regulated by the Ministry of Education because it is listed as a “social education institution,” while many other private zoos are registered as tourism and entertainment businesses, which are regulated by the Tourism Bureau, he said.
Neither the Ministry of Education nor Tourism Bureau is overseeing the operations of zoos, he said.
Although the Council of Agriculture and local agriculture departments have animal specialists, regulating pets, pet food and animal shows keep them occupied, Chiu said.
They do not have additional resources to study wild animals and seek the best ways to regulate them, he said.
Many advanced countries have stipulated specific legislation to regulate zoos, Chiu said.
“This would enable a better understanding of the status of each animal, from the propagation of species to preventing animals from being sold in unregistered markets,” he said.
There was discussion about stipulating a zoology act about 10 years ago, but it led nowhere, Chiu said.
Aside from the lack of proper management of animals and insufficient training for emergency situations involving animals, the government has yet to offer an effective solution to rampant smuggling and illegal trade of animals, he said.
In 2021, the Council of Agriculture was forced to euthanize 154 cats smuggled into the country, he said.
Last month, an investigative report published by Mirror Magazine showed that many illegal bird farms capture rare wild birds so that people can take pictures of them, he said.
“We hope that the baboon can rest in peace and its sacrifice can change the fate of other animals in Taiwan,” he said.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said that Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) and the Taoyuan Department of Agriculture should apologize and pledge to conduct a thorough investigation.
The city government’s command system was chaotic while pursuing the baboon, Lin said.
The animal sustained a gunshot wound from a hunter dispatched by the Hsinchu County Government, he said.
“Instead of quickly sending the baboon to an animal hospital, the city’s agriculture officials were busy taking pictures with the wounded animal. They were even trying to put on a show by bowing and giving flowers to the body of the baboon,” Lin said. “The mayor only apologized on Facebook. This is outrageous.”
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