Yunlin farmer charged over Chinese vaccines
By Lee Wen-te, Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
A Yunlin County man surnamed Chen (陳) has been indicted on charges of contravening the Veterinary Drug Control Act (動物用藥品管理法) for allegedly smuggling in 468 bottles of an unapproved bird flu vaccine from China in February, the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said earlier this week.
The shipment allegedly contained about 93.6 liters of vaccine, enough to inoculate about 100,000 poultry, prosecutors said, adding that the office, working with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, intercepted the shipment before the vaccines could enter the market.
Chen, a duck farmer, had previously imported small quantities of the vaccine for personal use, prosecutors said.
The Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office is pictured in an undated photograph.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
He allegedly sought to capitalize on the recent bird flu outbreaks by selling the vaccines, which cost NT$600 (US$18.88) per bottle, for NT$1,200 each, they said.
To evade customs inspections, Chen allegedly listed “Andy Lau” (劉德華) — the popular Hong Kong actor-singer — as the recipient and declared the shipment as yogurt, prosecutors said.
The case is not the first involving illegal bird flu vaccines, they added.
The agency, prosecutors and the Coast Guard Administration in July last year seized more than 1,000 bottles of illegally imported bird flu vaccine in Yunlin County, the officials said, adding that the vaccines seized at the time had all been smuggled in from China via the “small three links.”
Agency Deputy Director-General Fu Hsueh-li (傅學理) said Taiwan has not approved any avian influenza vaccines, making their manufacture, import, sale and use illegal.
The vaccines’ source and manufacturing process are also unknown, he said, adding that administering them to poultry or livestock could not only fail to provide protection, but also risk spreading disease.
Countries currently using avian influenza vaccines have not been able to effectively control outbreaks, he said.
Taiwan is continuing to collect and update information on vaccine use and closely monitor vaccination plans in Europe and the US before assessing their feasibility based on local industry conditions, he added.
Anyone who illegally manufactures, imports or sells counterfeit or banned veterinary drugs could face up to seven years in prison and maximum fine of NT$4.5 million, the agency said.
Livestock farmers who use veterinary drugs of unknown origin or drugs that have not been approved could be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, it said, adding that repeat offenders within one year could face fines between NT$500,000 and NT$2.5 million.
Prosecutors and investigators urged businesses and the public not to use animal disease-prevention products of unknown origin, saying their ingredients cannot be verified and could threaten Taiwan’s animal disease-control system and public health.
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