Probe into gibbon attack at Malacca Zoo

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has launched an investigation into the attack by an aggressive male gibbon on a little boy at Malacca Zoo.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said Perhilitan has been told to tighten safety measures to prevent a repeat of the incident.

"Perhilitan is investigating the gibbon attack. It has never happened before and we are keen to find out why it happened," he said yesterday.

The gibbon attack was the latest in a series of freak animal attacks that caused severe injury and in some cases, death to their victims.

The 15kg alpha male primate snatched three-year-old Muhammad Afiq Haziq from his father's arms in the attack on Tuesday and tore a chunk of flesh off his thigh. The boy also suffered facial and bodily injuries,

It had earlier bitten another visitor, five-year-old Zukrina Abdul Hadi, on her left ankle.

Muhammad Afiq is reported to be in a stable condition at the Malacca hospital after undergoing an operation on his ruptured tendon.

"I hope his wounds will recover fast," said his father Kamarul Baharin Othman, 38, at the hospital yesterday.

He denied reports that doctors were attempting to save Muhammad Afiq's leg from being amputated, saying it was not that serious.

Malacca Zoo director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed, who visited the injured boy at the hospital, said the 10-year-old gibbon had been quarantined pending a detailed investigation.

He said gibbons were not aggressive by nature, adding that the one which attacked the boy may have been provoked.

"We will re-inspect the condition of the gibbon's enclosure to ensure the safety of visitors," he said, adding that the zoo would also bear all costs incurred, including lodging for Muhammad Afiq's parents.

Malacca Zoo public relations officer Masri Mohd Arof said investigations were ongoing to discover how the primate had crossed over to the park from its colony on a man-made island.

The gibbon's enclosure is separated by a metre-deep waterway from the public viewing space to prevent it from escaping, as gibbons are afraid of water.

Earlier this month, Australian tourist Jenna O'Grady Donley was gored to death by a Borneo pygmy bull elephant at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

In September, a local tourist guide and his assistant were attacked by a 25-year-old orang utan at the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre in Sarawak. Both of them suffered injuries.

Resource:  The Star/Asia News Network

Malaysia seizes million-dollar ivory shipment: Customs

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has seized elephant tusks and ivory handicrafts worth an estimated four million ringgit (S$1.6 million) en route from Kenya to Cambodia, a customs official said Tuesday.

The haul is the latest to indicate Malaysia has become an Asian transit hub in the illicit ivory trade, and follows the seizure of hundreds of African elephants' tusks in several busts by Malaysian authorities in recent months.

Customs inspectors seized the container last Thursday in Klang, Malaysia's biggest port, after it was unloaded from a cargo ship.

"The cargo manifest said the container contained handicrafts (soapstone) and it was loaded in Mombasa port in Kenya," Azis Yacub, state customs director of the state of Selangor, where the port is located, said in a statement.

Officials also found carved elephant and rhinoceros ivory. Azis said the container's final destination was the port of Sihanoukville in Cambodia.

In August, Hong Kong authorities seized nearly two tonnes of elephant ivory worth about $1.7 million in a shipment from Malaysia, which wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC has described as a major hub for illicit wildlife products.

TRAFFIC says that the illegal ivory trade has been rising globally since 2004 largely due to increasing demand in China, where ivory is often ground up and used in traditional medicine.

International trade in elephant ivory was banned in 1990, but since then several auctions of tusks from elephants that died naturally or were seized from poachers have been permitted in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Resource :  AFP

PANGOLIN MEAT WORTH RM3.9m SEIZED

SANDAKAN: The newly-formed customs marine special team has seized frozen Pangolin meat worth about RM3.9 million.

The meat, weighing close to five tonnes (4,988 kilogrammes) was seized from a jongkong (long boat) after a brief pursuit in the Batu Sapi waters near Kampung Bahagia here on Wednesday.

“This is the biggest seizure of Pangolin meat by Sabah customs,” deputy state customs director Hamzah Sundang told a press conference here yesterday.

He said the success came on the second day of “Operasi Sempadan” involving the special team headed by senior customs officer Winston Julian and assisted by another senior officer Haji Saidin Jalaluddin.

The special team chased after the suspicious jongkong which was heading towards open sea at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

After that, the long boat which was powered by two 200-horsepower engines then turned around and sped towards the shore.

The 40-feet long boat rammed into the shore after several men onboard jumped into the water to escape.

The special team managed to detain one suspect, an 18-year-old Filipino, and later found 178 cartons containing the meat of 1,068 Pangolins on the abandoned boat.

“Preliminary investigation revealed the jongkong was transporting the semi-processed Pangolin meat from Sandakan to the nearby Philippine island of Taganak,” Hamzah said.

He added that they are investigating to identify those responsible including where the Pangolin meat is from and its actual destination.

He said the Pangolin meat is worth RM 3,987,200 in the international market while the jongkong and the two outboard engines, RM 100,000. The case is being investigated under Section 135 (i) (e) of the Customs Act 1967.

Hamzah, meanwhile said they would continue to beef up operations against smuggling activities.

And, he also urged members of the public with information on such activities to inform the department.

“This is shocking,” Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said when contacted by News Sabah Times yesterday.

“There is something wrong with enforcement. You cannot possible attempt to smuggle out so much Pangolin meat,” he said.

Resource :  New Sabah Times

In pictures: Malaysian illicit wildlife trade

Pangolins: Natural Pest Controllers and Soil Caretakers

Pangolins play an important ecological role, providing ‘pest’ control and improving soil quality.

What the heck is a pangolin? Aside from being a very unique, insectivorous creature and the most trafficked mammal in the international illegal wildlife trade, these scaly anteaters also have a job — a very important one!

Pangolins provide earth with all-natural pest control and are fantastic tenders of soil, and they do these things simply through their everyday behaviors. Tens of millions of years of pangolin evolution have produced an incredible specimen that is perfectly adapted for the niche they occupy. 

Their mere presence, in conjunction with that of the other organisms and processes within the habitat they live in, is absolutely imperative to continued healthy ecosystem functioning.

Pangolins are soil caretakers

Their large and elongated claws enable them to burrow underground for shelter and to excavate ant and termite nests for food. In doing so, the soil is mixed and aerated—much like what happens when we rototill gardens or plow crop fields.

This improves the nutrient quality of the soil and aids the decomposition cycle, providing a healthy substrate for lush vegetation to grow from. When abandoned, their underground burrows also provide habitat for other animals.

Forget the exterminator, call in the pangolin!

It is said that a single pangolin consumes as much as 70 million insects per year—mainly ants and termites. Seventy million! That’s about 191,780 insects per day! Imagine an area that is home to 15 pangolins. Those animals alone could potentially eat as many as 1.05 billion insects annually! 

Comparatively, the U.S. National Park Service says individuals of some bat species are said to eat as many as 3,000 bugs each night, which could mean a total of almost 1.1 million a year. As you can imagine, pangolins certainly help to control their insect prey’s numbers, contributing to the delicate balance of the ecosystems they inhabit. 

However, humans also benefit from the pangolin’s work. Researchers at Ohio State University claim billions of dollars are spent annually on repairing termite damage and treating and preventing infestations. Healthy populations of scaly anteaters throughout their historic range can help to alleviate these problems.

Don’t fire the pangolins!

Ecosystems are maintained only when all of their components—biotic and abiotic—work synergistically, with each one doing its “job”. The extinction of pangolins may seem like a minimal loss, but the more parts you remove from a system, the closer it becomes to collapse.

Poaching pangolins to supply black market demand for their flesh, scales, and fetuses—which stems from East and Southeast Asia, particularly China and Vietnam—has become the number one threat to these magnificent creatures. This threat is closely followed by habitat loss. Daily, we are inching closer and closer to losing pangolins forever, as a result.

The existence of forests where pangolins “work” and live relies on these insectivores to do their “jobs”. It’s up to us to make sure pangolins aren’t exterminated, themselves!

Watch some pangolin pest control in action in this video from National Geographic!

Resource: pangolins.org

Wildlife Dept Seizes Over 900 Protected Animals

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks seized over 900 protected animals valued at about RM35,000 in a raid on a cowshed in Jalan Lama Riverside, Bedong, yesterday.

Kedah Wildlife and National Parks director Rahim Ahmad said today monitor lizards and snakes were found in a cage that was hidden in a container while tortoises were found in plastic baskets near the cowshed.

He said the raid was conducted at 2 pm after the cowshed was placed under surveillance for several days following a tip-off that wild animals were being kept for sale at the premises.

“Among the animals seized were 287 monitor lizards, 189 snakes, 30 tortoises, 272 coura amboinesis tortoises and 124 big tortoises,” he told reporters.

Members of the public with information on crimes related to protected animals can contact the Kedah Wildlife and National Parks Department at 04-7312200, he said.

Resource: Bernama

Tapirs losing out

BENDUL, the Malayan tapir, is a sorry sight. Unlike the other tapirs at the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre which have hefty, robust bodies, Bendul is almost all skin and bones. Her coat is dull and grey, not a healthy shine like that on the others. Her ribcage shows under her skin and her body is badly scarred.

She was named after the place where she was found loitering in late September, a village in Ulu Bendul some 16km from Seremban in Negri Sembilan, and arrived at the centre wounded and starving.

"After trapping her, we had planned to return her to the forest but when we saw that she had a bullet wound which was infested with maggots, we decided to bring her here," says Mahathir Mohamad who heads the Sungai Dusun centre, located in the upper reaches of Selangor about 90 minutes' drive from Kuala Lumpur.

From the tell-tale size and shape of the wound, wildlife officers believe Bendul had been shot by wild boar hunters, probably mistakenly. "Villagers say they have seen the tapir with two young. We searched but could not find the juveniles. We believe they have also been shot," says Mahathir.

At Sungai Dusun, a 4,330ha sprawl of protected peatswamp and lowland dipterocarp forest near the Selangor-Perak boundary which is both a rescue and captive breeding centre, Bendul is seen chomping on the leaves of the mengkirai, nangka and mahang trees which keepers have collected from the forest. Soon, she will be fed nutrition-laden pellets to fatten her up. At the centre, she joins six other tapirs - four of which are captive-breds and two, also rescued tapirs.

Bendul is the latest statistic in a growing list of displaced tapirs. As forests give way to human settlements, plantations and industrial development, and are fragmented by roads, tapirs are crowded out. They now number only between 1,100 and 1,500 in Peninsular Malaysia, and can no longer be found in Borneo.

The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has recorded an upward trend in tapir displacements: five cases in 2006, 25 in 2007, 39 in 2008, 22 in 2009 and 41 in 2010. Of the 142 cases seen during that period, the majority (95) were of tapirs which had ventured out of their normal habitats into villages, plantations, logging areas, forest fringes and roadsides. Fifteen were roadkills, 12 were wounded tapirs which eventually died from the injuries, and 20 were tapirs sent to Sungai Dusun, Zoo Melaka and other protected areas.

The cases mostly occurred in Pahang (46) and Johor (32), followed by Negri Sembilan (21), Selangor (17) and Terengganu (15). 

Resource article:  The Star/Asia News Network

Interpol Launches Campaign to Protect Threatened Tiger

International police organization Interpol said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found, including Indonesia, work together to combat wildlife crime. (EPA Photo)

Hanoi. Interpol on Wednesday launched a new campaign to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching, warning that failure to protect the endangered cats would have economic and social repercussions.

The international police organization said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found, including Indonesia, work together to combat wildlife crime.

David Higgins, manager of Interpol’s environment crime program, said the extinction of the tiger would impact not only biodiversity but the “economic stability and security stability” of countries where they are now found.

“The communities, the nations will lose confidence in their governments, and their good governance and their rule of law to be able to protect an iconic species such as the tiger from criminality,” he said in Vietnam.

Interpol’s new Project Predator is designed to help coordinate efforts of police, customs and wildlife officials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Illegal trade and trafficking in tiger parts and products is rampant across international borders, making enforcement of laws against it a challenge,” Interpol said in a statement released at its annual general meeting in Hanoi.

Project Predator, which has US, British and World Bank funding, will also share information with conservation agencies in an effort to raise awareness.

Higgins said law enforcement was “not the only answer” and greater education and poverty reduction were also needed.

Tiger numbers have been devastated by poaching and loss of habitat in the last century, falling from an estimated 100,000 in 1900 to fewer than 3,500 now, Interpol said.

The big cats, which are hunted for their fur, bones and other parts, are expected to be extinct by 2022 if left unprotected, according to wildlife group WWF.

Deputy head of Vietnam’s department of environmental crimes, Major General Vu Hong Vuong, told reporters that the country had more than 110 tigers — although 80 of these were kept in captivity.

“We have detected several cases of tiger trafficking from Thailand, through Laos, Myanmar to Vietnam and then to China. We need the cooperation from police of other countries in the protection of wild animals, especially tigers,” he said.

Resource article: Agence France-Presse

Perhilitan Seizes 449 Various Wildlife

ALOR SETAR, 27 OCTOBER, 2011: The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) seized 449 various types of wildlife, believed to be for export, during a raid on a house at Kampung Kandis, Kodiang, about 40 kilometres from here, yesterday.

According to Kuala Lumpur Perhilitan enforcement officer Celescoriano Razond, a total of 302 Asian cobras (Naja Naja), 146 Malayan box turtles (Coura Amboinesis) and a long-tailed macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) were seized.

The seizure of the exotic animals was made in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), he told reporters at the Perhilitan office in Bukit Pinang, near here, today.

Celescoriano said the animals were found locked under the house owned by a Malay man in his 40s, as well as at the front and backyard of the house for the past three weeks.

"The exotic animals, owned by a Chinese man in his 30s, believed to be the employer of the Malay man, were kept temporarily to be sent overseas," he said, adding that the animals were bought by the Chinese man from local people in Perlis.

He said both men were detained at the Jitra Police station lock-up for further investigation.

Keeping the male Asian cobras, the male Malayan box turtles, and the long-tailed macaque is an offence and offenders could be charged under Section 60(1)(a) of the Wildlife Conservation Act (Act 716), which carries a fine of up to RM50,000 and imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both.

Celescoriano said if the Asian cobras and Malayan box turtles were females, the offence comes under Section 62 of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Resource article: Bernama

Perhilitan defends spate of raids

PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has refuted claims from unhappy zoo and animal park operators that its recent spate of raids and animal seizures were “too fast and too drastic”.

It fired back in a statement yesterday, saying some zoo operators had failed to rectify their shortcomings despite being told to do so during Perhilitan's pre-zoo audit.

This included wildlife care, safety and record-keeping of every animal under their care.

“Most of the improvements can be done immediately. However, many of our comments are not acted upon accordingly,” it said.

It added that there was nothing new about its move to seize improperly-managed wildlife in zoos and parks.

Perhilitan reminded zoo and park operators to “buck up” in managing their wildlife. “We are here to safeguard the wildlife and not to wait and see. The main purpose of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 is to monitor how zoos in Malaysia are managed and operated,” it said.

According to its statistics, 192 animals were seized this year from various premises, including zoos, for failure to comply with the conditions set for keeping wildlife.

The Star reported on Monday that the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria had criticised the department for having no clear communication on the new Act or its guidelines.

Its president Kevin Lazarus had said Perhilitan should provide a written minimum standard for operators to comply with on animal welfare standards.

In response, Perhilitan insisted it had provided clear guidance to zoo operators since early last year.

Resource article: The Star Online

Wildlife Dept awaiting approval for issuance of new licenses

KUANTAN: The issuance of protected species ownership permits under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 has yet to be fully enforced even though it has been three months since the cut-off date.
Pahang National Parks and Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said the department was still waiting for the green light from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to implement the issuance of new permits.

 

Endangered: A filepic of Mohamad Azim, 27, with his Murai Batu at a bird exhibition in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan

“For the time being, we are only renewing licenses based on the old Acts as the new format and fees have not been finalised yet,” she said in an interview with The Star recently.
Khairiah said there should be no problem for those who already own licenses as long as they renew it.
Only those who possess protected species without licenses will be charged in court.

“If owners fail to renew their licenses, we can also charge them on technical grounds,” she said.
It was reported earlier that the final day for those who had not applied for the permit was on June 26 following a grace period of six months after the Act came into effect.
Individuals who own or purchase wild animals listed in the Act’s protected species list were required to get an ownership permit.

Khairiah also said microchip tags, scanners and systems for the implementation of the new permit had been prepared. “Once the Act comes into full enforcement, each animal registered with us will have their individual identification in our database. “We will then monitor and conduct enforcement throughout the year, she said. 

 

Resource article:  thestar.com.my

7 porcupines in Malaysia saved from the cooking pot

ST PHOTO: FONG CHEE WAI

ALOR SETAR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Seven porcupines destined for the cooking pot were rescued from a farm at Padang Terap here. A team from the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) from the Federal Territory and Kedah raided the farm and detained two men in their 30s.

Federal Territory Perhilitan officer Celescoriano Razond, who led the raid, said the two men tried to flee when the team raided the farm at about 9.15am on Sunday.

He said the protected animals were believed to be heading to restaurants selling exotic dishes. 'We believe the animals had been kept in the farm during the past six months,' he said. Mr Razond said initial investigations showed that the porcupines were caught by illegal hunters in the state.

Resource articel : straitstimes.com

NGO cries foul over ill-treated orangutans

Eight orangutans have been found malnourished and depressed in the latest animal abuse case to hit Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: An international conservation group has ripped into the Malaysian government for turning a blind eye to the plight of eight abused orangutans.

In a press statement today, Nature Alert said that it had investigated the disappearance of the eight from the A’Famosa Resort in Malacca after the orangutan show was banned last April.

The animals were recently discovered at an undisclosed location hunched inside cages with little hair left, malnourished and suffering from severe depression.

“For the last 18 months we’ve been asking Perhilitan (the Department of Wildlife and National Parks) to investigate where and under what conditions these eight orangutans were being held, but they never did,” said Nature Alert’s chief executive, Sean Whyte.

“This is the worst example of cruelty to orangutans I have seen in Malaysia. It’s barbaric and must be stopped right now.” Whyte also said that earlier this year Nature Alert had sent Perhilitan photos of the building in which the orangutans were thought to be held and requesting an immediate investigation. However, all those requests were ignored.

According to him, over 1,500 people have e-mailed Perhilitan to date expressing their concern for the health of these orangutans.

“I’m ashamed my government openly permits this abuse of such a magnificent species,” said Nature Alert’s senior investigator, known only as Shiva.

“The sight of these orangutans filled me with horror and disbelief. Perhilitan must now act quickly to confiscate the orangutans.”

Nature Alert has demanded that the orangutans be immediately confiscated and sent to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary in Sabah for medical treatment.

Minister should resign

It has also called for the immediate resignation of Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Douglas Embas, for ignoring all pleas to help the organutans. “His failure to do so has caused undue suffering on the orangutans and brought shame to Malaysia again,” said Nature Alert.

The NGO also pointed out that there is no serious attempt by A’Famosa to educate the public, nor is there any conservation programme conducted there. “It is, first and foremost, a golf resort with an entertainment park attached and as such we consider it unsuitable for the confinement of wild animals,” it stated.

This is not the first time that A’Famosa has come under fire. In 2005, orangutans found to be illegally in their possession were confiscated but no one was prosecuted.

In 2010, a video on YouTube alleged that a tiger had been sedated before being photographed with tourists. The resort denied this but Perhilitan subsequently banned future use of the tiger in this way.

Attempts by FMT to contact both A’Famosa and Perhilitan were unsuccessful.

Resource article: freemalaysiatoday.com

From 8am to 5pm ...

  Nearly 700 tusks recently seized in Malaysia (Photo credit: Star Publications (M) Berhad)

Azrina Abdullah

WHAT a busy few months it has been for Malaysia as it has yet again been pushed into the international wildlife spotlight. Aside from 1,764 elephant tusks seized by customs since July in Johor, Penang and Selangor (bad), there was also the rescue of animals this month from deplorable conditions in two Johor zoos after years of pressure from NGOs (good).

In addition, there was a troubling find of 12 snares in August near the East-West Highway, and other evidence to suggest that the Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve is increasingly becoming a poacher's haven, including those from Thailand and Cambodia (bad).

Much has been said about the lack of enforcement where wildlife is concerned because it is not a priority and in most cases, budget is sorely lacking to ensure enforcement officers have adequate resources to do their job well.
And after each criticism, the agencies always respond to say they have beefed up border controls and increased patrols across the peninsula. Then I read the response of Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) state director for Perak on the comment by two NGOs that her enforcement personnel had slackened in their patrols of the Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve.

She stated that this comment was not true because her officers patrol the East-West Highway points from 8am to 5pm every day. Yes, you read that right – 8am to 5pm. Is there something wrong with this statement? Does the director think poachers only hunt during office hours? If I was a poacher, this is a too good to be true statement – enter the forest after 5pm because no officers will catch me.

I am praying that this is a misquote by the reporter as it sends a despairing message to those working to save the Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve that Perhilitan is not serious about protecting our precious wildlife.
It does make you wonder how this matches with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry's statements over the years that it has "increased patrols, beefed up security and enforcement staff". If 8am-5pm patrols are what the ministry meant by "increased patrols", it is no surprise that poaching in Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve is worsening.

The director also defended her department by saying the forest reserve is under the jurisdiction of the state, and not the department. Therefore, there are restrictions to what her officers can do. More excuses.
Perhilitan has mentioned repeatedly that the public plays an important role in providing enforcement agencies information on illegal wildlife activities.

What good would it do if we keep providing information but no action is taken because state and federal agencies cannot work together?
Granted that there are matters which the state and federal agencies cannot see eye-to-eye but will the issue of jurisdiction be the end of the Belum-Temengor Forest and its inhabitants as armed foreign poachers continue to pillage our biodiversity?
Their intrusion also poses a threat to our national security?

Resource article: thesundaily.my

100 star tortoises seized in Malaysia

Indian Star Tortoises are in high demand in the international pet trade © Chris R Shepherd / TRAFFIC Southeast Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14th September 2011—Authorities in Peninsular Malaysia yesterday discovered and seized 100 Indian Star Tortoises, packed in a plastic container at a business premises.

The Indian Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans is legally protected by Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. It is highly prized and remains a target for the international pet trade, despite being afforded legal protection in its range countries of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, all of whom have banned the species’s international commercial export.

Peninsular Malaysia Wildlife Department’s Crime Unit (WCU) seized the tortoises while inspecting a warehouse that deals with aquaculture products, in the state of Melaka.

Department officers detained a man after he failed to produce valid documentation for possession of the protected animals.

In addition, the owner of the premises does not hold a wildlife business licence from the Department.

“We congratulate the Wildlife Department and call on them to come down hard and make an example of this offender if he is found guilty,” said Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Deputy Regional Director.

“It’s traders like this who are giving Malaysia a reputation as an illegal wildlife trade hub: punishing them to the full extent of the law will demonstrate that Malaysia is serious about stamping out illegal wildlife trade.”

The Department has lodged a police report on the man who has been summoned to court where he is expected to be charged under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 on counts of possession of protected species.

He could also be charged under the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008, which carries a maximum penalty of a MYR 1 million (USD 379,000) fine or imprisonment of up to seven years.

“TRAFFIC urges the Wildlife Department to arrange for the urgent repatriation of the animals seized yesterday,” said Shepherd.

“We also look forward to a publicly available list of licenced wildlife businesses so the public can make informed and responsible purchases, which will go a long way towards stemming the illegal wildlife trade.”

Just under a month ago, 589 Indian Star Tortoises were seized at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, although no arrest was made on that occasion.

Resource article: traffic.org