Five of 28 parrots smuggled by an Indonesian
traveler into Taiwan wait in a cage before
being destroyed as a precaution to stop the
spread of bird flu.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
PRECAUTIONARY
MEASURES: They're rather cute birds,
but they were smuggled from a country considered
to be vulnerable to the bird-flu virus , so
customs destroyed them
By Chiu Yu-Tzu
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Nov 04, 2004,Page 2
Protected parrots smuggled from Bali by an
Indonesian traveler who arrived in Taipei
on Tuesday were destroyed yesterday in order
to guard against the spread of bird flu, the
Council of Agriculture said yesterday.
Council officials said that on Tuesday evening,
customs officers at CKS International Airport
discovered 28 parrots hidden in plastic pipes
in baggage belonging to a traveler surnamed
Sugiharto.
Suspected of violating the Statute for Prevention
and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (“®•¨™Bõ•a–hŽ¡žŠ—á),
Sugiharto was detained by police.
The seizure is the first case involving travelers
smuggling birds from countries since the outbreak
of bird flu earlier this year. Since then,
the council's Animals and Plants Inspection
and Quarantine Bureau has banned the import
of bird-related products from affected countries.
The prohibition was applied to Indonesia on
Jan. 29.
All Southeast Asian countries except Singapore
and the Philippines are considered at-risk
territories for bird flu.
Yesterday, the 28 parrots were destroyed
by bureau officials.
"Samples taken from the parrots were
sent to laboratories for further examination.
Results of the tests will be available by
the end of this week," said Hsiao Tsung-yao
(åJ@êŸ), a director
at the bureau.
Taiwan remains an area unaffected by bird
flu, but Hsiao yesterday reminded people of
the risk of spreading the virus by smuggling
bird-related products from affected countries.
Travelers smuggling such animals face a sentence
of up to three years' imprisonment.
Hsiao also urged locals not to purchase bird-related
products whose origins cannot be verified.
Bureau officials said that the nation's poultry
farmers remain on high alert because a number
of farms in central and southern parts of
the country were affected by the less pathogenic
H5N2 strain earlier this year.
Officials also urged local people to avoid
visiting poultry farms when traveling to countries
hit by bird flu.
They said the situation in Hong Kong remains
critical after reports on Tuesday that a dead
gray heron was found near the border with
mainland China. The Hong Kong government said
the bird was infected with the virus.
The virus is thought to have killed 12 people
in Thailand and 20 in Vietnam this year. Health
experts fear the disease will mutate into
a form that can be transmitted between humans.
