New Rules for Wildlife Conservation Act in Taiwan

Paws Up!
To the Legislative Yuan and its president Wang Jin-Pyng for ratifying new rules to prohibit the import, export, and sale of marine mammals and their products without special permits from the governing agency.

According to a news story, “the Legislative Yuan completed ratification of new rules to the Wildlife Conservation Act yesterday to prohibit the import, export and sale of marine mammals and their products without special permits from the governing agency. In the latest amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Act, first promulgated in Taiwan in June 1989, violators will be subject to fines and the outlawed products will be confiscated, Lawmakers said the ban covers marine mammals like seals, sea lions, sea otters, manatees, and sea elephants (also known as elephant seals).”

The article states, “They said that Taiwan has now become the third largest Asian consumer and the fourth in the world in terms of the consumption volume of marine mammals and their products as people believe in the special medical or health effects of the products.”

Animal rights groups in Taiwan are putting in a great effort to revise the wildlife protection rules. Hopefully these new rules will prohibit the trade in marine mammals.

The effect of these rules should diminish the number of marine mammals being killed. As a result, Taiwan has conserved these species for present and future generations.

Sea lions are beautiful marine mammals that are at a great risk of being slaughtered to make seal oil and other products.

Take Action: Contact the president of the Legislative Yuan and thank him for these new limitations.

President Wang Jin-Pyng
President of the Legislative Yuan
No. 1 Chungshan S. Road
Taipei, 10051
Taiwan, R.O.C.

Fisheries Service Approves Killing Sea Lions

Paws Down!
To the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service for approving the killing of sea lions in the Columbia River.

According to a news source, NOAA’s Fisheries Service has “approved killing the sea lions, which travel up the Columbia River to eat salmon trying to pass the dam on their way to spawn.”

According to the article, “California sea lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but NOAA said the population of about 238,000 is ‘healthy and stable.’”

Photo by lowjumpingfrog

Once humans alter the balance of prey/predator species, we create situations where there are too many of one and not enough of the other. So, then, we decide to correct the balance by, as in this case, killing off a predator. But then what if the salmon don’t return in sufficient numbers? Have we killed sea lions for no purpose? Playing with Mother Nature leads us into some unimaginable scenarios.

Other variables, such as the hydraulic damns, themselves, and the introduction of nonnative species of fish, i.e. bass and walleye, may be contributing to the salmon’s decline; yet it is the sea lion who is being singled out and who will suffer greatly.

Take Action: Write a polite letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service requesting a reevaluation of the plan to kill sea lions.

Eric C. Schwaab
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries Service
Partnerships & Communications
1315 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Source:
noaanews.noaa.gov/
bendbulletin.com/