Strange Net Sighting

Life Pets & Domestic Animals
1

Yesterday I went to my favorite look out spot behind our university on my MTB. This spot is very pleasing, as it is secluded, away from traffic, offers a great view over Taipei, Sinjhuang, Taoyuan, Sanchong and on clear days all the way to Yang Ming Shan. A bonus is that the only access is a small, rideable single track trail along the ridge which is rather rare on my current MTB diet.

Anyway, along this trail on the ridge, somebody set up a huge net, maybe 50m long and 6m tall. It was rather annoying, because my break handles kept getting stuck in this. I am pretty sure that its purpose is catching birds. And my instincts tell me that this is not an entirely legal setup. I also saw two young guys darting into the bushes downhill as I approached them. Either I disturbed them making out, or they did not want to be seen while setting up or observing the net.

Could somebody shed some light on these rather mysterious events?

2

Looks like someone is poaching wild birds.

And what is an “MTB”?

3

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Looks like someone is poaching wild birds.

And what is an “MTB”?[/quote]

MTB = MounTain Bike

4

[quote=“ratlung”]Yesterday I went to my favorite look out spot behind our university on my MTB. This spot is very pleasing, as it is secluded, away from traffic, offers a great view over Taipei, Sinjhuang, Taoyuan, Sanchong and on clear days all the way to Yang Ming Shan. A bonus is that the only access is a small, rideable single track trail along the ridge which is rather rare on my current MTB diet.

Anyway, along this trail on the ridge, somebody set up a huge net, maybe 50m long and 6m tall. It was rather annoying, because my break handles kept getting stuck in this. I am pretty sure that its purpose is catching birds. And my instincts tell me that this is not an entirely legal setup. I also saw two young guys darting into the bushes downhill as I approached them. Either I disturbed them making out, or they did not want to be seen while setting up or observing the net.

Could somebody shed some light on these rather mysterious events?[/quote]

Well, Ratlung, I think…probably, you are the witness of the “pigeon kidnappers.” :fume:

These pigeon kidnappers use nets to trap pigeons in the race, so that they can phone those pigeon owners and asking them for ransom. If they aren’t satisfied with pigeon owners’ answer (which means, pigeon owners don’t want to pay, or the ransom they pay for these basterds is not enough, or even worse, didn’t pick up the phone accordingly), they will break those poor pigeons’ wings or neck and leave them starving/bleeding to death.

Very horrible, isn’t it? :fume:

So, whenever you see these criminals, please phone the neareset police station right away to save these poor poor pigeons (and maybe, endangered breeds of migrating birds)! :astonished:

5

[quote=“ratlung”]Yesterday I went to my favorite look out spot behind our university on my MTB. This spot is very pleasing, as it is secluded, away from traffic, offers a great view over Taipei, Sinjhuang, Taoyuan, Sanchong and on clear days all the way to Yang Ming Shan. A bonus is that the only access is a small, rideable single track trail along the ridge which is rather rare on my current MTB diet.

Anyway, along this trail on the ridge, somebody set up a huge net, maybe 50m long and 6m tall. It was rather annoying, because my break handles kept getting stuck in this. I am pretty sure that its purpose is catching birds. And my instincts tell me that this is not an entirely legal setup. I also saw two young guys darting into the bushes downhill as I approached them. Either I disturbed them making out, or they did not want to be seen while setting up or observing the net.

Could somebody shed some light on these rather mysterious events?[/quote]

Well, Ratlung, I think…probably, you are the witness of the “pigeon kidnappers.” :fume:

These pigeon kidnappers use nets to trap pigeons in the race, so that they can phone those pigeon owners and asking them for ransom. If they aren’t satisfied with pigeon owners’ answer (which means, pigeon owners don’t want to pay, or the ransom they pay for these basterds is not enough, or even worse, didn’t pick up the phone accordingly), they will break those poor pigeons’ wings or neck and leave them starving/bleeding to death.

Very horrible, isn’t it? :fume:

So, whenever you see these criminals, please phone the neareset police station right away to save these poor poor pigeons (and maybe, endangered breeds of migrating birds)! :astonished:

6

I did not reallize that they are taking this hobby so seriously. Pigeon kidnapping a terrible crime. So does everybody think that this is illeagal and should be reported to the police. If so, I will do it right away once I see them again.

7

Its either pigeon kidnapping or catching songbirds, either for cages or the barbequeue. Both illegal. A sharp knife is what you need. Slash that fucker into little pieces.

8

[quote=“sandman”]Slash that fucker into little pieces.[/quote]I would do the same to the net too :fume:

9

But what if it is like some kind of scientific research attempting to calculate the local bird population?

HG

10

Plus, it’ll be propped up with long poles and possibly guy ropes. Pull up the poles and cut the guy lines, too.

11

Sandman, I’m confused, you would do this only if it was for scientific research?

12

No. I’m just slow. Nursie, I don’t know how they count songbird populations, but they don’t do it by trapping them in nets. Netting is illegal, but common. I’ve seen those nets many times and always do what I can to destroy them.

13

Righto, just thought I’d try and curtail a potential disaster. Slash away. . . but to be absolutely sure, you could follow the chaps to a pool, if they strip down to a pair of budgie smugglers, well then you know for sure.

Sister HG RN (ret)

14

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]But what if it is like some kind of scientific research attempting to calculate the local bird population?

HG[/quote]

If that’s the case, then they wouldn’t escape ratlung and hid in into the bushes, right? :wink:

15

This is either the pigeon kidnapping thing or poaching.
I’ve seen this same set-up along trails in Central America - Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and a couple of others.

Just cut it up and watch out for them being a bit p.o’d at you for doing it. Since its a money making thing on their part, it might be a good idea to get out quick and report it to the local P.D.
Not that that will mean very much.

As is their wont.

16

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]But what if it is like some kind of scientific research attempting to calculate the local bird population?

HG[/quote]

Well, that’s what I was thinking first. Or monitor the occurance of bird flue in Taiwan. I actually have seen a documentary where they did use a similar approach in Switzerland. But when I saw those guys darting away I had my doubts. Although I might have distrubed them in a make-out session.

But anyway, that’s why I asked before slashing anything into pieces.

17

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]This is either the pigeon kidnapping thing or poaching.
I’ve seen this same set-up along trails in Central America - Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and a couple of others.[/quote]

Well, that’s what I was thinking first before I heard about the pigeon kidnapping theme. It would make some sense in areas where they have valueable birds, but I have not seen any wildlife birds that seem valueable, and it also looked too much effort just to catch something for the BBQ.

The net was actually kept in place by solid cable, and I also did not carry any knife with me. And I was not sure if those guys would turn on me if I’d mess with the net too much.

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]
Just cut it up and watch out for them being a bit p.o’d at you for doing it. Since its a money making thing on their part, it might be a good idea to get out quick and report it to the local P.D.
Not that that will mean very much.

As is their wont.[/quote]

After reading all your comments, I did mention it to my colleague and after a short lab discussion we decided to call the police. They were very eager to look at the net, and 5 minutes later I was sitting in a TW police car driving out to the spot. The guy told us that those criminals sometimes request a ransom of up to NT$10,000,000 for those poor birds. He also mentioned that it was very wise of me to get out of the area without any actions, as those guys are often armed. It seems that the pigeon associations do go up into the mountains during the races and try to catch those bastards.

Anyway, by the time we got to the spot, 20 hours after I found the net, all evidence was gone. I just showed the spot to the cop, and hope that during the next race, the bird lovers know where to look for the kidnappers. But now that I know about the details involved, I will call the cops much earlier.

18

Ratlung -
Sounds good. Glad to see the conscientious response from the local PD. That is heartening. It sounds like they are already familiar with the ransom activities of these people.
Also, since the nets were taken out so quickly after your appearance, they may also be aware of your activities on the trail.
Stay safe.

19

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Ratlung -
Sounds good. Glad to see the conscientious response from the local PD. That is heartening. It sounds like they are already familiar with the ransom activities of these people.[/quote]

I was also suprised how quickly and serious the local PD responded. Gave me also some hope that things might change in the future.

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]
Also, since the nets were taken out so quickly after your appearance, they may also be aware of your activities on the trail.
Stay safe.[/quote]

Either that, or the pigeon race is pretty much over. The cop made it sound like they specificly target certain races. So if there is a race, they quickly put up their nets, and if they don’t catch anything that day, they take is down again. I also noticed that there were pieces of old net along the trail, so they probably put them up there quiet frequently. I will keep my eyes open, and next time just call the cops instead of continuing along the trail. Might be the safest thing to do.

20

Ha Ha! You said “bird lovers!” :laughing:
The deal is that top-of-the-line pigeon racing (and of course, the often astronomically high-stakes betting) is run by gangsters. There’s a reason some of these pigeons change hands for millions – not sure, but I seem to recall a year or two back there was a record high sale of NT$25 million for a single stud bird. And it wasn’t because of his pretty eyes.
So you have gangsters breeding and racing birds, and other gangsters trying to catch 'em. And the cops, of course, taking money from all sides, as is their wont.
I saw the start of a big race one time, and they had about six cops armed with M-16s standing guard as the birds were released.
But they do also set up nets to catch songbirds to eat, especially down south. When I was young, thoughtless and utterly un-PC, one of the highlights of a trip to Kending was stopping off where the southern cross-island branches off and dining on songbird BBQ. I still blush when I think back, but damn! Those tiny critters taste FINE!