Search begins for man selling bear paws

The Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) held a press conference on Friday to accuse Lin Chin-hsiu, operator of the Quanyuan Villa and restaurant in Chiayi's Meishan Village, of abusing the protected bears and of possibly selling the meat after one of the bears died.

The environmental and animal rights group yesterday also blasted the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) and other government agencies for condoning the trading of protected animals and called for an investigation to find out if customs authorities have been involved in the smuggling of bear paws into Taiwan.

Chen Yu-min, director of EAST, said that Lin has long advertised bear paw as the signature dish at his restaurant.

She said that two protected animals — a Malay sun bear and a highly endangered Formosan black bear — were being kept in cages. The sun bear had already died, while the black bear required immediate care.

Many tourists and guests had seen the caged bears that were used by Lin as part of business promotion gimmicks.

Chen said that Lin's son, Lin Heng-yi, told undercover EAST members who traveled to the restaurant to investigate that he usually obtains his bear paws from aboriginal people.

However, Chen said that EAST was informed that the villa had been offering dishes made from various protected species for more than two decades and that Lin does not only rely on aboriginal people for his bear paws, but also smuggles them from areas like Myanmar, Vietnam, and China.

Chen also demanded an immediate probe to see if customs officials have been involved in the illicit trade.

In response, officials from the COA and Chiayi County Government led prosecutors, investigators, and police to make an on-site inspection of the Quanyuan Villa yesterday.

They found only the Formosan black bear in a cage and decided to move it to Taipei Zoo for better protection.

In the kitchen of the restaurant, they uncovered animal meat that could belong to Formosan Reeve's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi micrurus).

Lin Heng-yi told investigators that he took over the management of the villa and restaurant from his father two years ago, but he has never offered any dish made from bear meat or other protected animals.

He said his father has been recently visiting some relatives in northern Taiwan without giving details.

Although Lin stressed that he currently only has venison in storage, investigators gathered samples of meat from the kitchen and the menu of the restaurant offering delicacies of Formosan Reeve's muntjac as evidence.

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