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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Crackdown on pigeon racers
Criminal Investigation Bureau officers in Greater Kaohsiung confiscate documents and cash in an investigation into alleged gambling and animal cruelty by the Greater Kaohsiung Zhongzheng Pigeon Society on Wednesday. Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
‘UNDERCOVER OPERATION’: A pigeon-racing society targeted by a Criminal Investigation Bureau probe dismissed allegations of abuse after a tip from PETA US
By Huang Chien-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Criminal Investigation Bureau （CIB） searched the Greater Kaohsiung Zhongzheng Pigeon Society and froze about NT$120 million （US$3.9 million） in assets held by the society and some of its members following a complaint lodged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals US （PETA US）. The search on Wednesday and its outcome shocked pigeon societies nationwide.
Officials with the bureau’s southern Taiwan criminal prevention center yesterday told a news conference that the tip-off was that the nation’s pigeon-racers were breaking the Animal Protection Act （動物保護法） through the inhumane treatment of pigeons and violating gambling laws.
PETA US alleged the pigeon-racing groups were involved in illegal gambling — estimated to be worth billions of New Taiwan dollars — which had led to the death of millions of pigeons, based on information gained through an “undercover operation.”
The bureau said there are more than 170 pigeon racing societies nationwide and that to fully investigate PETA’s complaint would harm police efforts to prevent vote-buying in the Nov. 29 elections, so it decided to target one society each in northern, southern and central Taiwan.
The center’s Eighth Investigation Corps asked Greater Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office Prosecutor-General Yen Yu-shan （顏郁山） to lead the investigation into the Zhongzheng group.
The 78-year-old head of the society, surnamed Hung （洪）; its 55-year-old secretary, surnamed Su （蘇）; and a 23-year-old accountant surnamed Chen （陳） were taken in for questioning, while investigators asked local banks for help in checking the society’s accounts.
The bureau said the society has 190 members and takes 4 percent of racing admission funds to cover administrative costs.
The group has been preparing for its autumn racing season, it added.
The center said its suspicions about illegal gambling were raised because Wednesday’s search of the society turned up nearly NT$1 million （US$32,900）, while the bank accounts of the society and some of its members held NT$120 million.
The center said it was continuing its investigation and expected to expand the scope of the probe.
Meanwhile, the society said that racing pigeon breeds are expensive and its members would never mistreat their pigeons.
As for the gambling allegations, the society said it distributed prize money in accordance with the nation’s pigeon-racing traditions, but the award money was simply a way of commending its members for their dedication to the sport.
Allegations that billions of NT dollars were involved were outrageous, the society said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Cash and documents related to a Criminal Investigation Bureau investigation into alleged illegal gambling and animal cruelty by the Greater Kaohsiung Zhongzheng Pigeon Society are shown at a press conference in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: CNA
