TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kenting National Park's sika deer population has recently come under threat from poachers seeking valuable deer antlers.
According to the Kenting National Park Office, illegal hunting activities within the park are punishable by a fine of up to NT$3,000 (US$94). However, those caught illegally possessing firearms can face between three and seven years in prison, and a maximum fine of up to NT$7 million.
A resident living near Sheding Natural Park (a park within Kenting National Park), heard a series of gunshots early Thursday morning (Sept. 19). The individual later ventured toward the location of the gunshots and spotted a lifeless sika deer with its antlers removed, per CNA.
The resident said it was the third time this month he heard gunshots within the national park. The frequency of this has led some concerned netizens to describe the national park as a “poacher’s paradise.”
Indeed, residents of the area say the smell of rotting sika deer carcasses wafts from the Kenting Archway all the way to Sheding Nature Park. They claim the smell is a public nuisance and affects their quality of life. For this reason, they hope their poaching complaints will encourage the Kenting National Park Office and the Seventh Special Police Corps to do more.
Chen Jun-shan (陳俊山), deputy director of the Kenting National Park Office, told local media on Tuesday (Sept. 24) that park staff had recently recovered a dead adult male sika deer, which had its antlers and right forelimb removed. The body was riddled with bullets, which was determined to be the cause of death.
Seventh Special Police Corps 8th Brigade Deputy Captain Chen Yuan-fa (陳元發) also made comments to local media, pledging cooperation with park officials to step up patrols around known sika deer habitats. Chen said cooperation with the Pingtung County Police Department Hengchun Branch has already yielded four sika deer poaching cases involving four people.
Chen said that two cases involving two people have seen them charged with breaking the National Park Law. Another two cases involves two people, who have been charged with violating the Firearms, Ammunition, and Knives Control Act.
