As is commonplace throughout the world we have another example of business destroying the habitat of wild cat species which in this case concerns the leopard cat (aka Asian leopard cat) in Miaoli, a county in the middle of Taiwan. Also commonplace is the destruction of habitat by big business under dubious planning applications and sometimes downright fraud or corruption. There is often little regard by governments to preserving the precious species of animals who make their home in the forests and other landscapes of Asia. They prefer to support businesses and I hate to say it but often there will be backhanders involved which line the pockets of politicians.
In this instance there are 500 leopard cats living in this county in Taiwan. There is a genuine possibility that they could become extinct there because the government of Miaoli are working with businesses such as Yulong Vehicle Company and the FuLuSo Funeral Service company to develop an area inhabited by this small species of wild cat which as you might know is the wild ancestor of the very well-known Bengal cat, one of the most popular purebred pedigree cats in the world.
The companies involved have already started engineering works at the site even though an environmental impact evaluation has not been completed. The project should be stopped until a proper evaluation has been made and due consideration given to the impact upon the landscape and the animals who live within it.
It is really time for governments in Asia to place a higher priority upon conservation of the planet rather than forging ahead with one thought in mind namely economic growth. Economic growth cannot go on forever at the expense of nature and of the welfare of humankind.
Small wild cat species are constantly under threat even without considering developments as mentioned in this article. For instance on 28th 2014 in Sanyi, Miaioli County an adult Joho was run over by a car and killed. This happened not far from the FuLuSo Funeral Service company’s facilities. This is the third accident concerning a leopard cat in six months.
There is a petition on care2. Please sign it.
Leopard cat range. My thanks to Dan for telling me about this petition.
My pleasure Dan. The world is run by business + politicians. The victim is nature.
Thank you