Leg traps are nothing more than deviant pairs of transformed knives. Designed to shock and torture victims with their sharp teeth, their only purpose is to snap off whatever body part falls into their maws. In fact, they are far more dangerous than regular knives; they are knives with no specific object but to maim innocent animals. These knives are overtly sold and excessively set throughout Taiwan. In effect, they are landmines, transforming any locale into a minefield. They are extremely lethal, and they are extremely dangerous to humans.

Statement:

1. Leg traps maim and kill numerous animals, and even human beings fall victim to them. Today, reports coming out of China, Hong Kong, and Austria tell of humans being seriously injured by leg traps. The media in Taiwan have reported the discovery of leg traps in Green Bay, at schools such as Kaohsiung Niaosong Elementary School, in the eastern district of Taipei, in Jialeshuei in Pingtung, on the paths of Wan-Shou Mountain in Kaohsiung, in Fu-zhou Park in Banciao, in Wu Lai, in the area around Taipei City Hall, and on Hankou Street in Ximending—all of which are places teeming with people all the time. Now, even schools, tourist attractions, city streets, community parks, mountain paths, and flowerbeds are littered with leg traps. If a small child accidentally steps on one, the child will not be simply hurt; he or she could be killed! According to one news report, on May 23, 2009, while a foreign couple were walking their dog, the dog was caught and injured by a leg trap. Moreover, the canine companion of a volunteer for Animals Taiwan, a woman named Faye, was hurt by a leg trap. When she returned to the scene of the crime, she herself was caught in a leg trap. These sad events are shameful for Taiwan as a whole. It is truly urgent that society control the manufacture and distribution of leg traps.
2. According to the National Parks Law, Article 13, hunting animals shall be prohibited within national parks. However, lethal hunting devices such as traps appear even in the eco-protection areas of our national parks. According to the media, when police dealt with winter poaching in Taroko National Park, they found that leg traps were the devices most often employed. The victims were numerous animals of all types; whether they fly in the sky or run on the ground, whether adult or young, none can escape. Many wild animals are in no less danger than stray animals. According to researchers, nearly half of the black bears they caught, tagged, and released had lost several toes, or even an entire paw. These were clear signs that they had escaped from leg traps set by hunters. Mountain climbers also hate leg traps bitterly. When walking in the mountains, they have to exercise extreme caution--leg traps hidden in high grass can cut off the legs of even wild boars and black bears. These implements of animal torture and abuse frequently appear in national parks, such as Yangmingshan and Kenting. This is really an ironic contrast to the animal protection work in Taiwan.
3. In Taiwan, leg traps have maimed countless animals. Numerous stray animals and wild animals have suffered the loss of a limb. In civilized countries, leg traps are already considered devices of animal cruelty. But in Taiwan, these devices are cheap and widely available; they can be purchased in hardware stores for less than 100 NT dollars. The profit margin of leg trap sales is low. Making laws to regulate these traps will not lower the profits of hardware stores, nor would doing so have any discernible impact on the overall economic health of our country.
4. Germany and Switzerland have banned leg traps. The European Union has had such a ban in place since 1995. The EU further bans the import of fur from animals caught with leg traps. In Australia, if one intends to catch animals with leg traps, one must use traps specially designed to minimize suffering. The US enforces a similar law: Leg traps must have a protective rubber coating. In Austria, in the past, the use of leg traps required a special permit; since 2009, however, leg traps have been totally banned. If we think of ourselves as a civilized society, we should strictly regulate the manufacture, distribution, and use of leg traps. Nobody should be allowed to buy and use leg traps. Do not make Taiwan’s animal protection work into a sham!

5. According to Article 19 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, one cannot hunt wild animals with traps, leg traps, or special hunting tools. Article 14 of the Animal Protection Act clearly states that without the approval of a competent authority, leg traps shall not be used to capture animals. But these rules are nothing more than ink on paper, for the crimes continue. The authorities can, at best, only dismantle leg traps, with no way of discovering who set the traps in the first place. In addition, the resources of law enforcement are limited, and evidence is extremely difficult to gather. The regulations are inherently flawed. No single article of the law governs the distribution of leg traps; the law forbids only their usage. However, since people can easily buy leg traps at affordable prices in any hardware store, thousands are purchased and set every year. The problem is further complicated by the fact that these traps are never labeled with the owner’s name; in effect, they are criminal weapons that cannot be traced. The law is riddled with major loopholes.

6. Most of the animal protection inspectors employed by local counties are employed on only a part-time basis. They are very busy, and they have extremely limited resources. Some counties do not even provide for the position of animal protection inspector. Taipei City, for example, which has the highest number of animal protection inspectors in Taiwan, requires that a mere six inspectors be responsible for monitoring 7,000 hardware stores. This is not just an unreasonable demand; it is far beyond the realm of possibility. Clearly, such a task requires the help of the police. Regulating the sale of leg traps would not require that the National Police Agency (NPA) purchase any special equipment; nor would doing so impose a heavy burden on the officers of the law. The regulation of leg traps would require far fewer resources than the regulation of the illegal drug trade. Therefore, we demand that the NPA regulate leg traps.