Animal protection groups yesterday called for amendments to enhance supervision over animal exhibition operations and ensure transparency, following a court ruling that found an activist guilty of privacy offenses after exposing improper animal management by Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村主題遊樂園) in Hsinchu County.
Thirty-four civic groups joined a petition in support of Animal Skies researcher Sera Lim (林婷憶), who was convicted of offenses against privacy and sentenced to two years on probation and three sessions of legal education by the High Court.
Lim bought a ticket to the park on June 16, 2023, and began to video the bird aviary with her mobile phone after she crossed three pots of plants and a rope that separated the aviary’s private space from the public area, the ruling said.
Photo: CNA
She said that she aimed to improve the park’s backstage management of exhibited animals in line with public welfare, which should not be considered recording non-public activities “without reason” in contravention of privacy laws, it said.
However, Lim also told the court that she was at the park to investigate the living conditions of its giraffes, following the suspicious deaths of eight giraffes over the past decade, the ruling said.
Given that her videotaping of non-public activities at the bird aviary had no reasonable link to what she claimed, Lim’s appeal against her conviction by the Hsinchu District Court was denied.
Attorney Lee Chuan-he (李荃和) yesterday told a news conference that the ruling might send a negative message that discourages supervision over animal welfare and causes a chilling effect among advocates.
Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan chairman and attorney Lin Tsung-ying (林宗穎) said the ruling adopted such a strict definition of “without reason” that whistle-blowing might be constrained.
“Animals cannot speak for themselves and investigations by public welfare groups are usually the only means of unveiling the truth,” he said.
Lim did not enter the park to probe for business secrets and her investigation into different exhibits for animal welfare should have been considered legally justified, Lin said.
Taiwan Animal Equality Association chief executive officer Lin Yi-shan (林憶珊) said the park has filed lawsuits against many animal protection advocates over the past few years, which she said were “strategic lawsuits against public participation” that “did not aim for a win, but to consume defendants’ resources and suffocate dissidents.”
Life Conservation Association associate executive officer Chou Chin-shan (周瑾珊) said that local law enforcement capabilities are not sufficient to sustain supervision, calling on the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen regulations on backstage animal management and promote transparency on animal welfare.
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