Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/08
By Yang Shu-min and Lilian Wu
Taipei, April 8 (CNA) A Taiwanese traveler returning from Japan has been
fined for bringing eight live beetles into Taiwan on Thursday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Friday.
The traveler was fined NT$3,000 (US$93), and all the beetles were confiscated and destroyed.
Feng Hai-tung (馮海東), deputy director-general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine under the COA, said live insects can directly or indirectly harm local plants and pose a potential threat to the country’s agricultural sector and environment.
They are not allowed to be brought into the country unless prior approval has been obtained from authorized agencies, Feng said. [FULL STORY]