Police in Hualien’s Yuli Township (玉里) yesterday cited a man for traffic contraventions, after his pet ostrich escaped its enclosure and was spotted running among motorists on Provincial Highway No. 9.
The Hualien Police Bureau’s Yuli Precinct said in a statement that one of its officers was yesterday morning conducting an “online patrol” when they came across photographs of the ostrich on social media.
Upon investigating, officers tracked down the owner, surnamed Huang (黃), who said he usually keeps the bird in an enclosure in Dayu Village (大禹), just north of central Yuli.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public surnamed Chen
Yesterday morning, the ostrich was apparently frightened by something and took off, running down the highway through a red light and continuing south to a factory near Yuli Senior High School (about 2.5km away from its home), where Huang was called to come and retrieve it, police said.
After questioning Huang, police issued him a citation under Article 84 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which penalizes the owners of pets, poultry or livestock that impede traffic with a fine of NT$300 to NT$600.
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