Taiwanese men caught playing with lifeless body of captured Formosan black bear

台灣男子玩弄被捕獲的台灣黑熊屍體

Suspects face up to NT$1 million fine, case comes on heels of similar case in same area


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A group of men shown in a video playing with the body of an apparently lifeless Taiwan black bear on a scooter are subject to a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$33,000), the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office said Wednesday (Dec. 14).

In the 16-second video, two groups of men ride scooters with two people on each vehicle. A man on one of the scooters appears to be holding a shotgun, and a man on the other scooter lifts the arms and head of a visibly unconscious Taiwan black bear in jest. In the video, someone can be heard saying, "I'll take a funny picture. Look at the camera, why is its head facing the other way in disdain?"

The office’s chief prosecutor Wei Hao-jung (魏豪勇) said that the video, which has been circulating online, shows that the group had caught a black bear and that the office had collected good evidence and will continue investigating the case, CNA reported. The office stated that hunting or killing protected wildlife species without permission is in violation of Article 18 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, and “shall be punished with imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years, and/or a fine of not less than NT$200,000 and not more than NT$1,000,000.”

The suspected animal abuse came on the heels of a separate case when law enforcement took legal action against a man in Wutai Township, also in Pingtung County, on Dec. 8.

The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office seized the corpses of a Taiwan black bear, a wild goat, 14 Taiwan sambar feet, and a specimen of a sambar head from a refrigerator in the man's residence. Authorities also seized a homemade shotgun.

The suspect was investigated for alleged violation of the Wildlife Conservation Act and was released on NT$200,000 bail.