A baboon that was on the loose in Taoyuan City for several days was killed with a shotgun on March 27 during an operation to capture it. The personnel who were involved in the operation told the police that the shooter, a hunter surnamed Lin, had told them that his shotgun was legal and he was authorized to shoot by Hsinchu County's Agriculture Department.
Personnel offered a tribute of flowers, and then bowed deeply in front of the remains of a baboon. The baboon's remains were transported from Taoyuan City's Animal Protection Office via a special vehicle with an escort to Taipei Zoo on the morning of March 28. The corpse underwent tests including X-rays and blood tests, and DNA samples were also taken. It was finally transported to the Council of Agriculture's Animal Health Research Institute for a necropsy to determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, witnesses described the moments before the baboon was killed.
Witness: “A shot ran out along the street, and it ran inside that wall over there. It ran over there.”
Witness: “It squatted like this and looked like a round black ball as it squatted. It came out when it heard my voice, and it jumped up.”
The baboon had been on the loose for several days. A hunter surnamed Lin shot it with a shotgun during the capture operation. It succumbed to its injuries despite treatment. Lin asserted he had been authorized by Hsinchu County's Agriculture Department. The department responded that it had only consulted the hunter about the possibility of using a tranquilizer gun and had not assigned or authorized him to capture the animal.
Chen Kuan-i, Director, Department of Agriculture, Taoyuan City: “We have asked the police and prosecutors to investigate why the baboon was shot and why the hunter carried a real gun with actual bullets into our administrative region. We are very saddened and angry over this situation.”
Chen Chien-hsien, Deputy Magistrate, Hsinchu County: “The Hsinchu County Government would like to reiterate that we did not entrust the hunter surnamed Lin to do this. In addition, the location where the incident occurred was not under Hsinchu County's jurisdiction.”
Lin frequently took on assignments from the Forestry Bureau. It's not yet known who authorized him to shoot the baboon or if he was authorized to shoot at all. The police have interrogated related personnel and transferred the case to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, which will determine if there were any violations to the Wildlife Conservation Act.
守在台北市立動物園側門的媒體，在上午11時終於等到桃園市農業局，將被槍擊不幸死亡的狒狒屍體送來台北市立動物園，車子進入動物園先經過消毒。隨車抵達的林務局官員表示，將進行Ｘ光與斷層掃描拍攝，接著採取檢體。
農委會林務局保育組長羅尤娟說：「曾經有傳說出牠是豚尾狒狒，所以我們做物種鑑定確認牠是哪一種狒狒。」
針對圍捕現場混亂，有誰參與、參與者身份都沒有掌握，是否有疏失？林務局表示現場由地方政府主責，目前尚不清楚責任歸屬，不過一起來到動物園的桃園市農業局官員，坦言圍捕到動物卻沒有先檢查狀況急著拍照，以及沒有釐清現在有誰參與都是疏忽，要深自檢討。
桃園市農業局主任秘書黃玉詩表示：「我們也不了解他為何來參與，事實上在我們所有的作業標準裡面，沒用到獵槍，獵槍始終不是在我們的考量範圍之內，是超出原來的預期，所以也感到非常的震驚跟遺憾。」
狒狒屍體在北市動物園完成檢驗後，將送往位於淡水的農委會家畜衛生試驗所進行解剖來釐清死因，至於現場開槍的獵人是否有涉及違反《野保法》，林務局表示待警方來調查。而桃園市農業局官員在動物園也再次鞠躬，為狒狒之死、作業疏失道歉。