15-21 May: Week 2 of Pesta Ubin
Pesta Ubin 2017
Checking up Beting Bemban Besar
wild shores of singapore
Sailfin Armoured Catfish (Pterygoplichthys sp.) @ Lower Seletar Reservoir
Monday Morgue
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Best of our wild blogs: 15 May 17
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Malaysia: Customs seizes 330 tortoises worth RM1.2mil at KLIA
JO TIMBUONG The Star 15 May 17;
SEPANG: The Customs Department intercepted a smuggling attempt involving more than 330 tortoises valued at RM1.2mil at the KL International Airport on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of officers searched the air cargo warehouse at the Free Commercial Zone and found five boxes containing suitcases.
They found 325 Indian Star tortoises and five Ploughshare tortoises wrapped in moist pouches in the suitcases.
The tortoises were found alive and are believed to have been sedated.
The cargo arrived from Antananarivo Airport in Madagascar declared as "stones".
The fake address on the airway bill was a shop supposedly located in Salak Tinggi here.
Customs Enforcement Division deputy director Abdull Wahid Sulong said it was the first time that they found tortoises smuggled via air cargo.
"We've had five similar cases since 2015 and smugglers usually either hand carry or smuggle them through the post," he said.
Abdull Wahid said the Ploughshare tortoises could fetch US$4,000 (about RM17,339) each while the Indian Star species could sell for US$1,000 (about RM 4,334) each on the black market.
"These tortoises would normally be kept as exotic pets but we aren't able to determine whether they are destined for that or for traditional medicine," he said.
330 exotic tortoises smuggled in via suitcases
JO TIMBUONG The Star 16 May 17;
SEPANG: Quick action by the Royal Malaysian Customs saved 330 tortoises from being encased in glass tanks by local exotic pet enthusiasts.
On Sunday, the department’s enforcement team intercepted the smuggling of Ploughshare and Indian Star tortoises, estimated to be valued at RM1.2mil, at KLIA.
Acting on a tip-off, a Customs enforcement team searched the air cargo warehouse at the Free Commercial Zone here and found five boxes, each containing a suitcase.
Upon further investigation, enforcement officers found 325 Indian Star tortoises and five Plougshare tortoises wrapped in moistened pouches inside the suitcases.
The illegal cargo came in from Antananarivo Airport, Madagascar, and were supposed to be passed off as “stones”, according to the airway bill. The bill also bore a fake address of a shop allegedly located in Salak Tinggi.
All the tortoises were alive and believed to have been sedated.
Customs deputy director of enforcement Abdull Wahid Sulong said this was the first time the tortoises were smuggled through air cargo in large numbers.
“We’ve had five similar cases since 2015 and smugglers either bring them in smaller quantities through hand carry luggages or smuggle them through post,” he told reporters yesterday.
Abdull Wahid believed the tortoises were to be sold in the local black market.
Ploughshare tortoises could fetch US$4,000 (RM17,341) each while the Indian Star species could sell for US$1,000 (RM4,335) each.
“Since we found them alive, they were most probably destined for the exotic pet market,” he said.
The department could not say if a syndicate was behind the smuggling.
“It is difficult to pin-point at the time being and arrests have yet to be made,” Abdull Wahid said.
The case is being investigated under Section 135(1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967 for importing prohibited items as it is illegal to import tortoises without a permit.
Ploughshares are native to Madagascar while Indian Stars can be found in India and Sri Lanka.
Both species are listed as endangered. They will be handed over to the Department of Wildlife and Natural Parks of Peninsular Malaysia.
Meanwhile, a 35-year-old trader from Tamil Nadu, India, was sentenced by a Sessions Court here to two years’ jail for keeping 20 black pond turtles.
Bakrudin Ali Ahamed Habeeb admitted to two counts of keeping 10 female and 10 male black pond turtles (Geoclemys Hamiltonii) without a special permit at a hotel room in Lorong Ceylon at 5.40pm on May 9.
He also admitted to another charge of keeping the 20 turtles inside three suitcases, thus causing pain and suffering to the turtles.
Sessions Court judge Harmi Thamri Mohamad @ Shaharudin sentenced Bakrudin to 24 months in jail for keeping the female turtles, 12 months for keeping the male turtles and three months for causing them pain and suffering. The sentences will run concurrently.
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Malaysia: Exotic pet sellers turn to Internet to avoid arrest
Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 15 May 17;
KOTA BARU: Despite the authorities’ crackdown on pet sellers who have turned to online portals to sell wild animals, including totally protected species they are still carrying their business.
Sources said the pet sellers had added tiger cubs (panthera tigris), monkeys (long-tailed macaque), leopard cats (panthera pardus), sulphur crested cockatoo (cacatua galerita) and slow loris (nycticebus coucang) to their list.
The sources said the sellers normally made their offers on Facebook and mudah.my.
“Before this, they were selling bearcat and parrots but they have turned to tiger cubs, leopard cats, monkeys and birds.
“They are working in departments and private offices but their income is not enough to support their living. Therefore, they choose to get involved in the business.
“There are students who are involved in the trade and most of them are from higher learning institutions as they want more pocket money,” said the sources.
Kelantan Wildlife and National Parks Department director Mohd Hasdi Husin said it was monitoring the online sales.
“The department will arrest the pet sellers if they are found breaching the law,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Those found guilty could be charged under Section 60 and 68 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) for hunting or keeping protected wildlife without licence or permit. If convicted, they can be fined between RM50,000 and RM500,000 or jailed up to five years.
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Indonesia: Forest rangers arrest tiger skin traders in West Sumatra
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb The Jakarta Post 15 May 17;
A team of forest rangers at Kerinci Seblat National Park arrested two people allegedly involved in the trade of tiger skin and tiger bone on Saturday night.
The head of the national park, Arief Toengkagie, said the team, led by Nurhamidi, arrested two farmers, Awaludin, 46, and Sabian, 40, in Air Muring village in North Bengkulu, Bengkulu.
“They were arrested carrying two sacks of tiger skin and bones. They are now at the North Bengkulu Police station for further investigation,” Arief told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Kerinci Seblat is the largest national park in Sumatra, spanning parts of West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and South Sumatra.
The population of Sumatran tigers in the 1.37-million hectare conservation area remains low as they are under constant threat from poachers. The national park estimates a population of between 162 and 174 tigers in the area.
Previously, the team arrested two other suspects, Syamsir, 55, from East Dumai, Riau, and Aris Sulardi, 57, from Dharmasraya, West Sumatra, for allegedly transporting tiger skins to the border area between Bungo, Jambi, and Dharmasraya on April 23.
“The team estimates that the tigers were captured six to twelve months ago in forests in Dharmasraya,” Arief said. (rdi/wit)
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