Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/06/08
By: Lu Kang-chun, Ku Chuan and Chung Yu-chen
Taipei, June 8 (CNA) The government has demanded that local authorities should consider
Image taken from Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan’s Facebook page
the impact on endangered leopard cats’ habitats when conducting environmental assessments of development projects, Minister Without Portfolio Chang Chin-sen (張景森) said Saturday.
Chang’s announcement came in wake of the Miaoli County Council rejecting a bill to protect the endemic wildcat species Tuesday, enraging conservationists.
Chang said Saturday that he has directed the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture to survey the habitats of leopard cats, adding that Miaoli, Taichung, Nantou and Changhua counties are known to be areas in which the creatures live.
As leopard cats have been spotted in New Taipei and Hsinchu county, Chang said he has demanded that the local authorities conduct a study on the number and distribution of the animals. [FULL STORY]