After 18 days of wandering, the Taoyuan baboon was rounded up by personnel from the Taoshi Municipal Bureau of Agriculture yesterday. The baboon died of gunshot wounds.

(Photographed by reporter Chen Enhui)

[Reporter Yang Yuanting/Taipei Report] Taoyuan baboons escaped for 18 days and were successfully captured on the 27th, but died of gunshot wounds. Chen Zhenzhi, an associate professor at the Institute of Wildlife Conservation of Ping University of Science and Technology, said that the methods of rounding up dangerous wild animals in various countries include shooting. The government and the executive unit must explain to the public why this method is adopted, and also point out that the capture of wild animals must be handled by professional teams, and untrained people should not be allowed to go into battle.

The baboons were first sighted in Taoyuan on the 10th. The Taoyuan City Government set up a "baboon catching war room" to hunt down the baboons. Later, the baboons were successfully hunted down yesterday. After the baboons were captured, officials from the Taoyuan Agricultural Bureau took special photos and took selfies. Later, the baboons were shot and died. , triggering social discussion and national attention.

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Chen Zhenzhi said that each country has different methods of dealing with escaped captive animals. For more dangerous animals, many countries will adopt the method of direct shooting, but the premise is whether the people know the advantages and disadvantages of shooting the animal with a gun, as well as the government's cooperation with them. Did the executive unit first explain to the public that the method of shooting was to kill and why it was done, "but it is obvious that the public's perception of the operation to capture the baboon is that the method of anesthesia first and then capture will be adopted."

Chen Zhenzhi further pointed out that catching wild animals requires a professional team and personnel to carry out, "To capture wild animals, we must consider the treatment of animals after anesthesia, how to ensure the safety of animals after anesthesia, on-site medical support, etc. This is a complete set. Training is not an untrained person who knows how to do it after listening to one or two courses." He said that Taiwan's local government units have a long-term shortage of wilderness personnel, but there are such professional groups and units in the north, central, south and east of Taiwan, and they are happy to provide Assistance, if things can be entrusted to a professional team, it will improve efficiency and save manpower.

Baboons have wandered in Taoyuan for 18 days. Many people are highly curious about baboons, but ignore that baboons themselves are relatively dangerous wild animals. Chen Zhenzhi said that if people face baboons, they should have the risk awareness that they may be injured, including Baboons themselves are agile, have long canine teeth, and strong hands and feet. Baboons are highly dangerous animals for children. However, in theory, appropriate methods should be used to capture the baboon. Explain why to the public.

In addition, baboons are not a native species of Taiwan. Although the owner of the baboons is not yet known, after baboons escape from the breeding environment, there will be varying degrees of impact on the environment. Taiwan is an island-type ecology, and any invasion of alien species will have a negative impact on Taiwan's environment. Therefore, if the public encounters alien species, they should immediately report to the local or central government, so that government units can formulate strategies to suppress or remove alien species as soon as possible.