Earlier this afternoon, on an afternoon bike stroll, I stopped nearby a small park somewhere on the outskirt of Linkou, New Taipei.
I notice an Asian looking man (possibly a Vietnamese, since most populations there are Vietnamese and Indonesian, and usually you could tell an Indonesian easily) trying to tinker on his self-made catapult to hit something on top of a small tree (possibly a bird).
He took a shot once while I am approaching and seemed missing the target.
I come closer and take a glance (my Chinese is sketchy and I am pretty sure he’s English is as bad, and preferably better him not knowing I am not Taiwanese), I pretend to take picture and we had a stare for a few seconds, before he finally left after I pretend to call someone.
Question: what should I do? I think it’s illegal to hurt an animal in Taiwan.
Nearby a Taiwanese old man and an old woman may or may not realize his action seems not bothered with this.
I would and have stood by and stared at such people. Now I live in countryside so see this fairly often. The ones who park outside our house and rummage through the land near out house are stared at, their cars photographed…and sometimes I confront them. Usually they just lie and say they are fishing but you can see their bag has turtles or birds. One guy saw me photograph his truck as his left…he started yelling/threatening me (“why you take photo? You better be careful!”). Usually they are after protected species to sell. In past every night on the road to our house a guy would drive very slowly and use his high powered light to scan the trees (I guessed he was looking for owls which used to hear near our house). When I asked the local temple about this guy they said they know about his activities but he always claims he is hunting rabbits with a slingshot. Well, easy to see he is not looking for rabbits as he beams his lights through the tall trees.
I would take some of his advice and at the very least be careful. Escalation happens fast, and he knows where you live. A clear disadvantage.
If you’re in Taipei, you have lots of options as the government there might do something. I’m not sure who is best. But the spca might be a good first call to ask what to do. Or the police. I think people in the north actually know the characters for animal abuse
I’m possibly getting confused, but I think hunting weapons such as bows and slingshots are illegal in Taiwan unless you have a license for same. So even if nobody cares about the birds, they might have some interest in that.
But yeah, be careful. People who think this sort of thing is a sensible way to spend your time are often a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I can’t imagine there’s anything flying around in Linkou that’s either valuable or edible, which would suggest he’s doing it for amusement value. I’ve seen Filipino kids trying to kill birds with slingshots for fun.
Depends. If I were alone, I might confront him. If I were with my wife and daughter, I’d just avoid him on the off chance (maybe not so off) he’s crazy or violent. As you get older you start to choose your battles more carefully.
Back home, if there are people around, I would tell him not to do it (could be politely or yelling).
If no one around, almost certain, will avoid him. Maybe call a cop if the animal is a dog/cat, otherwise no.
Home is different ball game. One misunderstanding could led to something really… really bad.
There’s a lot of speculation here. Why not just ask him? The guy made a miniature catapult? I would like to see that. My nephews when they were little would throw baseballs in the trees and knock cicadas around. Hilarious.
Anyway, speaking as like an outdoorsman and a hunter, there’s no such thing as an “Urban Wildlife Hunter.”
Actually, it could also. But not to same scale.
Back home, it could be racial violence.
Here maybe, I got known by all Vietnamese in the region, and have hatred looks whereever I am going.
Maybe, a small chance of fist fight.
I am ready for a fist fight, not for racial violence, due to my action.
(Don’t ask, how’d I know these)
I have advantage that he thinks I am Taiwanese, coz I look like one.
My Chinese is bad.
99% he is a Vietnamese blue collar worker with very limited English.
The guy is not a kid. 20-30 yrs old adult.
The title was changed by @yyy. The original title is not the one currently written.
Slingshot, hand catapult. Not the one that used by the Crusaders to breach Saladin’s fortress during the middle ages.
A veritably scandalous comportment! This man should be educated to source his meats in the supermarket refrigerator (which have been furnished without hurt to animals). I would recommend you to notify the authorities, rather than to confront the brute directly.
Sarcasm? No I believe his actions should most surely be reglemented. In my proper country, we have hunters who have lived like this in the forest torturing animals. Thankfully most of the forests are defriched now to make way for agriculture, so this problem has been greatly ameliorated.
Different battles, Fabrice. Just because the government makes it legal for slaughterhouses for treat animals badly doesn’t mean we shouldn’t avail ourselves of more enlightened bits of the law.
And as the squid and JD said, hunting for food is a different thing entirely (I admit it’s hard to explain why it’s different, but the point of the exercise is not primarily to inflict pain on the animal).
There’s no reason to hunt sparrows, pigeons or other city birds in an urban setting for use as food unless you’re insane. Or else Taiwan’s social safety net is even worse than I thought. Hunting birds for sport is scummy and sadistic, but it might be the less unsettling motivation between the two.
Is less unsettling than sports hunting cause its in an urban area with other people and collateral damage. Arnie I think made a movie called just that.
Hunting with ranged weakens in populous areas is just dumb and irresponsible. Psychological issues aside, just not safe.
