Man arrested for killing endangered Taiwanese black bear after posing with slain animal

A 52-year-old timber thief from Taiwan has been arrested for killing an endangered Taiwanese black bear, the fur and skeletons of which were discovered by task force team members from a shack erected by the accused. According to reports, Hsinchu Forest District Management Office formed a task force of mobilizing 50 police and 36 forestry personnel to investigate the illegal timber trade in Taiwan. After a four-month-long investigation the above mentioned accused, including eight others were arrested by the task force. 

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During the investigation, when officers discovered the fur and skeletons of the endangered Formosan black bear, they called in the man for questioning. The officers discovered a photo of him posing with the dead bear in his mobile phone following which he confessed that he killed the animal with a homemade shotgun. The accused told officers that he had laid traps for the meat of animals, but a bear was trapped in it and he got confused with what he should do with the bear, whether to release it back, which would have endangered his life or to kill it. he decided to do the latter and killed the animal by shooting it. 

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Up to 5 years imprisonment

The man said that he ate the belly and paws of the bear and then skinned it and saved its fur. In Taiwan, illegal hunting, killing protected species of wild animals, involve a contravention of section 41 of the Wildlife Conservation Law, the most important will be up to five years imprisonment, and an NT 20-10,00,000 yuan penalty. According to Bear Conservation, it is believed that there are only 200 to 300 Formosan black bears in the wild, which is why they have been listed as vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

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