▲ If the public notifies the riverside park of foreign species, the Animal Protection Office will send personnel to bring them back for resettlement. (Photo: Courtesy of New Taipei City Animal Protection Office)
Pet Group/Integrated Report
"Does it hurt?" If you are not injured, find a safe and suitable place to put it!" This is a sentence that the undertaker of the New Taipei City Animal Protection Office most often reminds the field animal protection personnel. Animal protection office will receive 5, 60 pieces of turtle rescue reports every year, often there are people who see turtles crawling on the ground, worried that they encounter danger, they will first enthusiastically pick up home, and then notify the animal protection office to send personnel to go, but often after the inspection of the animal protection office personnel, it will be found that most of these turtles are not injured, choose a suitable location to wild.
▲ At night, next to the river embankment, you will occasionally see spotted turtles crawling onto the road. (Photo: Courtesy of New Taipei City Animal Protection Office)
Every year in late spring and early summer, between About April and June, it is the hot season for wild turtles to land, and when you go to Riverside Park or walk by the ditch at night, you have the opportunity to see wild turtles ashore and crawl hard on the road, and enthusiastic people will be worried that they will be caught or killed by vehicles, and kindly bring the turtles on these roads back to be resettled, and then notify the animal protection office to go to the rescue. When the staff of the Animal Protection Department brings it back, if it is found to be a native turtle species such as a turtle and is not injured, it will be taken to a suitable and safe water for wild release, so that it can return to the natural environment to continue to live.
▲ People often kindly bring back harmless turtles. (Photo: Courtesy of New Taipei City Animal Protection Office)
According to the Animal Protection Department, with the rise of wildlife conservation concepts and animal protection awareness, many people will want to rescue and help when they see small animals that have fallen alone, but they should try to observe more before deciding on the right approach. Take the wild turtle found in the riverside park as an example, unless the animal is injured, it is necessary to notify the relevant units to go to the rescue, otherwise the ecological environment next to the riverside park is rich, in fact, it is the natural habitat of the turtle, no need to pick it up at will, at this time to help it cross the road safely.
▲Well-meaning people pick up conservation firewood coffin turtles to the animal protection office. (Photo: Courtesy of New Taipei City Animal Protection Office)
Li Wei, director of the Agriculture Bureau, called for the implementation of wildlife conservation not to rely on rescue and wild release, but more importantly, "the whole people have a correct concept of conservation". If people find injured wild animals, they must ensure their own safety before reaching out to the animals.
▲The riverside is originally the habitat of native turtles. (Photo: Courtesy of New Taipei City Animal Protection Office)