With Malaysia’s authorities, notorious ‘Lizard King’ a shocking blank (VIDEO)

Anson Wong gets physical when 101 East Presenter, Steve Chao asks him whether he continues to trade in threatened and endangered animals. — Pictures courtesy of Al Jazeera

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — His wildlife smuggling earned him the title “Lizard King” and led wildlife groups to dub him “public enemy number one”, but the name Anson Wong drew a blank with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, according to an Al Jazeera reporter on the trail of the convicted smuggler’s comeback.

Steve Chao, a presenter on the “101 East” programme with the international news channel, alleged that Wong continues to operate openly in Penang and holds wildlife trading permits, despite authorities purportedly revoking Wong’s and his family’s permits in 2010, after he was convicted of smuggling endangered snakes.

“Despite being from Penang, he’s never heard of the ‘Lizard King’, which, to us, is quite shocking,” Chao told The Malay Mail Online yesterday in a phone interview, referring to Wong with his popular moniker.

He added that the minister appeared in the dark over sanctions supposedly imposed on Wong’s trade following his conviction.

“We spoke to the natural resources minister, Palanivel. In 2010, when Perhilitan (Department of Wildlife and National Parks) decided that Anson Wong should be stripped of all permits for wildlife, and companies related to wildlife, he said that the decision should be standing today. But according to the paper trail, it is not,” he added.

Far from being kept away from the trade, Chao alleged that the wildlife dealer instead kept exotic animals such rare tortoises, wild cats from North Africa, albino pythons, white and yellow snakes, deadly vipers, and chameleons in stash houses in Penang.

- See more at: themalaymailonline.com

Man tries to smuggle turtle onto plane by hiding it in a hamburger

Passenger said he only wanted to travel together with his 'beloved' pet

Turtles and burgers usually don't go together - except when they do. Photo: "Turtle Burger" by flickr user 'flaunted'

A man tried to smuggle his pet turtle through security in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport by hiding it in a KFC hamburger.

The incident occurred on the morning of July 29, when a man, surnamed Li, was about to board China Southern Airlines flight 345 to Beijing, Guangzhou Daily reported. As Li passed through airport security, X-ray screening machines detected a few “odd protrusions” sticking out of a KFC burger that the man had packed in his bag.

Airport staff determined that the protrusions looked suspiciously like turtle limbs, and asked to inspect Li’s luggage.

“There’s no turtle in there, just a hamburger,” Li reportedly insisted. “There’s nothing special to see inside.”

Read more ..

Source: scmp.com

Pangolins under threat as black market trade grows

Endangered ... the plight of the pangolin is not helped by its low profile compared with threatened species such as elephants, lions and tigers. Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

The scaly anteater is less well-known compared with other illegally hunted species, but it is highly prized by traffickers. Last year tens of thousands of elephants and hundreds of rhinos were slaughtered to meet the growing demands of illegal trade in wild animals. Largely centred on eastern Asia, this black market is also devouring hundreds of tigers, sharks, tortoises, snakes and other rare beasts. It's a flourishing trade, worth an estimated $19bn a year. But little attention is paid to the pangolin, or scaly anteater, one of the mammals that suffers most from such poaching.

Trade in the pangolin was banned worldwide in 2000, but the meat and supposed medicinal qualities of this unobtrusive animal – the only mammal to sport scales – have made it one of the most highly prized targets for traffickers in Asia. The meat is considered a great delicacy and many believe the scales can cure various diseases, including asthma and certain cancers, as well as boosting virility. Pangolins have become so rare that they may fetch as much as $1,000 a piece on the black market.

As a result, two out of four of the Asian species — the Sunda, or Malayan, pangolin, and its Chinese counterpart (respectively Manis javanica and Manis pentadactyla) — are endangered and the other two are near threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Two of the four African species are near threatened too. There are no figures for the number of specimens in existence worldwide, but the experts warn that their disappearance would alter the ecosystem of tropical forests, due to the rise in the number of ants and termites. Read more..

Source: guardian.co.uk

Price of a Pangolin Sold in 2013

 

Pangolins were being sold on the black market in Asia at prices as high as $1,000 for the entire pangolin.

The pangolin is considered to be a delicacy in Asia and is scales are used for various medicinal purposes.

In a span of 18 months, intelligence reports claim that a criminal trafficking organization in Malaysia captured 22,000 pangolins to sell on the black market.

In Vietnam, between 40,000 to 60,000 pangolins were believed to have been caught by traffickers in 2011.

(Additional prices of endangered animals.)

Source: havocscope.com

Countries fail to protect endangered species from illegal trade

WILDLIFE CRIME SCORECARD 2012 © WWF / Martin Harvey

Geneva – Poor performances by key countries are threatening the survival of wild rhinos, tigers and elephants, a new WWF report has found. The analysis, released as governments gather in Geneva this week to discuss a range of issues related to wildlife trade, rates 23 of the top African and Asian nations facing high levels of poaching and trafficking in ivory, rhino horn and tiger parts.

The report, entitled Wildlife Crime Scorecard: Assessing Compliance with and Enforcement of CITES Commitments for Tigers, Rhinos and Elephants, examines of the many countries considered as range, transit or consumer countries for these species. It gives countries scores of green, yellow or red for each animal, as applicable, as an indicator of recent progress. WWF has found that illegal trade persists in virtually all 23 countries reviewed, but the scorecard seeks to differentiate between countries where it is actively being countered from those where current efforts are entirely inadequate.

Worst scored countries 

Among the worst performers is Viet Nam that received two red scores, for rhinos and tigers. Viet Nam is identified in the report as the top destination country for rhino horn, which has fuelled a poaching crisis in South Africa. A record 448 South African rhinos were killed for their horns in 2011 and the country, which itself receives a yellow for rhinos, has lost an additional 262 already this year. According to the report, many Vietnamese have been arrested or implicated in South Africa for acquiring rhino horns illegally, including Vietnamese diplomats.

“It is time for Viet Nam to face the fact that its illegal consumption of rhino horn is driving the widespread poaching of endangered rhinos in Africa, and that it must crack down on the illegal rhino horn trade. Viet Nam should review its penalties and immediately curtail retail markets, including Internet advertising for horn,” said Elisabeth McLellan, Global Species Programme manager at WWF.

Inadequate enforcement of domestic ivory markets in China is also highlighted in the report. China receives a yellow score for elephants indicating a failure by the country to effectively police its legal ivory markets. “The ongoing flow of large volumes of illegal ivory to China suggests that such ivory may be moving into legal ivory trade channels,” the report says. Read more : panda.org