(MY) leopard tortoises

June 26, 2007

76 leopard tortoises seized-New Straits Times 26/6/07

By : Jeeva Arulampalam

KUALA LUMPUR: It was labelled as " clay pots " and no one placed much

interest in the parcel from Tanzania.

But a Pos Malaysia staff at the mail and courier centre of the Low

Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang became curious when it suddenly moved

on its own.

It was opened and officers were shocked to find 76 live leopard

tortoises in two boxes.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks legislation and enforcement

division acting principal assistant director Haidar Khan said the

recent case was among several attempts to smuggle protected species

into Malaysia.

He said the department, which was now caring for the tortoises while

the case was being investigated, had contacted the Tanzanian

government on how to repatriate them.

" Each of them costs between RM100 and RM700 in local pet shops,

depending on size. Some can even go as high as RM1,000. "

He said if the tortoises could not be sent back to Tanzania, the

department would adhere to the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) rules, which

includes the government keeping them for educational or observation

purposes.

Haidar said the tortoises could not be released into the wild because

they were not native to the country.

The department is also repatriating tomorrow 385 Indian Star tortoises

smuggled from India in April.

In that incident, a 34-year-old Indian national was caught with the

tortoises in his hand luggage at the Kuala Lumpur International

Airport.

There were two other attempts to smuggle the tortoises, which can

fetch a price of between RM50 and RM200 each, in 2003 and 2005.

Haidar said the department could not take action against smugglers of

exotic animals, except to deport them.

CITES, an international agreement between governments, aims to ensure

that international trade of wild animals and plants do not threaten

their survival.

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