Woman Who Shouted at Protected Crested Goshawk Gets Non-Prosecution

(Central News Agency reporter Lin Changshun, Taipei 11th) A woman surnamed Luo, upon seeing a protected Crested Goshawk preying on a pigeon, shouted loudly at the scene, causing the Crested Goshawk to be startled and fly away. She was subsequently referred by the police for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act. Luo argued that she did not know the Crested Goshawk was a protected species at the time. The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office issued a non-prosecution disposition due to insufficient evidence of guilt.

The prosecutor's office pointed out that the Crested Goshawk is a Level II protected wild animal announced by the Council of Agriculture (now restructured as the Ministry of Agriculture). Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Act stipulates that protected wild animals shall be conserved and shall not be disturbed, abused, hunted, killed, or otherwise utilized.

The prosecutor stated that at approximately 9 a.m. on January 22 of this year, on a grassy area next to Lane 52, Section 1, Chang'an East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Luo saw a Crested Goshawk carrying a pigeon in its beak. To prevent the pigeon from being preyed upon, she shouted loudly on the spot, saying things like 'Let it go!', which caused the Crested Goshawk to be startled and fly away.

Luo filmed the entire process and uploaded the video to her social media account on Threads, posting a message saying, 'Passing by, I initially thought they were mating, but then suddenly saw the eagle holding a pigeon' and 'I immediately shouted: Let it go!' After citizens discovered this and reported it, police officers from the Fourth Brigade of the Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior, traced and apprehended her, and referred her for prosecution for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act.

During police questioning, Luo argued that when she saw the eagle holding the pigeon's wing, she was worried the pigeon would be injured. Based on the idea of saving a life, she approached and shouted to stop it. She stated she did not know that eagle was a protected wild animal.

The prosecutor indicated that on that day, apart from shouting, Luo did not use any implements to contact, chase, surround, or continuously interfere with the Crested Goshawk's activities, nor did she cause any result such as injury, entrapment, or inability to move freely for the Crested Goshawk. Therefore, her actions did not reach the level of 'harassment' as defined by the Wildlife Conservation Act. The prosecutor deemed Luo's guilt insufficient and issued a non-prosecution disposition according to the law. (Editor: Zhang Mingkun) 1150611