Taiwan yesterday ordered a crackdown on local bird hunters after at least 5,000 migratory birds were reportedly slaughtered in a national park in recent weeks.
Lee Wu-hsiung, head of the Construction and Planning Administration which oversees six national parks, said Taiwan's image had been tarnished by the reports which he also described as exaggerated. "We've demanded more police be deployed in the Kenting National Park" in southern Taiwan and "anyone found guilty would be punished severely in accordance with the law," Lee told AFP.
People caught violating the wildlife protection law may face a jail term of two years or a fine of up to 500,000 Taiwan dollars (15,150 US dollars).
Local newspapers, citing conservationists, said illegal bird hunters had turned the Kenting national park into a "killing field," where at least 5,000 gray-faced buzzards had been slaughtered this year.
Another official from the administration estimated only hundreds of such birds had been killed this year.
Around 25,000 gray-faced buzzards have migrated to the refuge over the past two months, according to statistics compiled by the administration. The illegal killing of migratory birds has reduced since the Kenting park launched a promotional campaign to educate local residents on wildlife protection more than 20 years ago, Lee said.
"But there is still room for improvement," he said.
Seventeen people were convicted for violating the wildlife protection law in the Kenting park in 2005. Five were convicted in the nine months to September.