Latest news with #wildlifecrime
Free Malaysia Today
03-06-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Traveller arriving in India from KL busted with monitor lizards in luggage
The mouths and limbs of the monitor lizards were taped together before the animals were wrapped in black cloth. PETALING JAYA : A traveller arriving in Tamil Nadu, India, from Kuala Lumpur was caught trying to smuggle two monitor lizards into the country by stuffing the exotic animals into his luggage. Tiruchirappalli International Airport's customs department said the passenger had arrived yesterday on Batik Air flight OD223. Acting on intelligence, customs officers intercepted the passenger and his checked-in luggage. They discovered the two monitor lizards stuffed inside, along with various food items. The mouths and limbs of the reptiles were taped together before the animals were wrapped in black cloth. 'Further investigations are ongoing,' it said in a post on X.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Telegraph
Antiques dealer caught selling tiger tooth and stuffed endangered animals
An antiques dealer has been caught selling ivory, endangered taxidermy animals and a tiger tooth. Justin Grimshaw, 71, was charged with 12 offences relating to the sale of items at Pendragon Antiques in the market town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. Police raided the shop in May last year and seized items including a taxidermy pine marten, endangered sawfish and an ivory sphinx figure. The antiques dealer admitted to offences relating to sales between 2019 and 2024 at Boston magistrates court this week. He was sentenced to four months in jail, suspended for 12 months and was told he only avoided prison due to his age and health issues. Grimshaw was also fined £500 and was ordered to pay costs and a surcharge of £239. Wildlife crime officers said they hoped the conviction would 'underscore the gravity' of the illegal trade in endangered species in the UK and act as a 'strong deterrent'. Lincolnshire Police's Rural Crime Action Team were tipped off last year about the sale of the illegal goods at the town centre store. As well as the endangered stuffed animals, officers found an ivory picture frame, an ivory sphinx figure and an ivory and silver presentation trowel. Officers also visited his home address in Pinchbeck looking for a tiger tooth which had been seen on body worn video in a glass display cabinet. The tooth was found and seized and further research revealed three sawfish rostrums on sale online between June 2019 and January 2024. Grimshaw was charged with offences contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulation 2018 and the Ivory Act 2018. He had claimed in a police interview that he did not realise he couldn't sell the items and did not realise they were protected by various pieces of legislation. Detective Constable Aaron Flint, the force's wildlife crime officer, said after the case: 'The illegal and unregulated trade in endangered species in the UK has a devastating impact on wildlife populations around the world. 'Iconic species continue to be illegally killed every day, making it vital that those fueling this appalling trade are held accountable. 'I hope this message underscores the gravity of these crimes and serves as a strong deterrent to anyone considering involvement in such unlawful activity. 'Lincolnshire Police take this type of offending very seriously and anyone found committing this type of crime will be dealt with robustly.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Surrey Police swab peregrine falcon chicks for DNA database
Police officers have taken DNA swabs from peregrine falcon chicks as part of an anti-wildlife crime from the samples will be added to a national database used to identify trafficked peregrine are highly prized in the illegal wildlife trade, and two clutches of eggs were stolen in the county last year, Surrey Police crime officers took swabs from three chicks which recently hatched in the county on Thursday. Police can use the national database to identify stolen existing and future siblings of the swabbed chicks, the force said. Surrey Police said officers were assisted by ringers from the British Trust for Ornithology during the swabbing chicks were returned to their nest after being swabbed and tagged.A spokesperson said: "We ask that anyone who lives in or recognises the area around the nest site does not disclose its location so we can continue to protect these birds and keep them in the wild where they belong."
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Appeal after buzzard killed in North York Moors National Park
A buzzard has been shot and killed in the North York Moors National is thought the bird of prey was targeted near to Beck Hole Road, Goathland, on 2 May, according to North Yorkshire rural task force appealed for any witnesses or anyone who saw people acting suspiciously in the area at the time to contact and all other birds of prey are legally protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, meaning to intentionally kill or injure one is a criminal offence. Anyone convicted of doing so could be at risk of receiving an unlimited fine or up to six months in jail, the force said. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
ABC News
10-05-2025
- ABC News
Two teens, 5,000 ants and the new frontier of the wildlife black market
Outside a Kenyan court, two shell-shocked teenagers were comforted by their families. "We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I just want to go home to start my life," one said. Their crime? Ant smuggling. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx claimed they had collected the ants for "fun" and didn't know it was illegal when authorities descended on their guest house in Kenya last month. The young men, originally from Belgium, were found to be in possession of about 5,000 ants, including messor cephalotes — a distinctive, large and rose-coloured harvester ant native to East Africa. The teenagers' lawyer would later claim they had been collecting the ants as a hobby, but the Kenya Wildlife Service charged them with planning to traffic the ants to markets in Europe and Asia. It said the teenagers had packed the ants into about 2,200 test tubes filled with cotton wool to help them survive, and the value of the seizure would equate to about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($14,367). Magistrate Njeri Thuku gave the young men the option of either paying about 1 million Kenyan shillings fine, or serving 12 months in prison over the seizure. "This is beyond a hobby," Magistrate Thuku said. "Indeed, there is a biting shortage of messor cephalotes online." Two other men were also charged last month over attempting to traffic ants. The Kenyan Wildlife Authority said they had about 400 stashed in their apartments, which equated to about $1 million Kenyan shillings. Reuters reported if the ants seized from the teenagers' raid and the second raid were able to make it to European shores, it would have fetched about 124 million Kenyan shillings. One of Kenyan's leading insect experts Dino Martins said the value of the ants would have gone up depending on where they were shipped, particularly because at least 90 per cent would have died during transit. "The price of cocaine in Colombia versus getting a kilogram in the European market is such a big value addition, that's why people do it." The Kenya Wildlife Service director Erustus Kanga said the cases marked a turn away from big game trade on the black market. "This case represents far more than insect smuggling," he said. "We're seeing organised crime syndicates diversify from traditional ivory poaching to target our entire biodiversity — from medicinal plants, insects to micro-organisms." It's a trend noticed by the University of Adelaide's Wildlife Crime Research Hub expert Charlotte Lassaline. "Increased online connectivity has made it significantly easier to access non-native species, often with limited regulation, varying degrees of anonymity, and minimal traceability. "At the same time, rising living costs and urbanisation have driven more people into smaller living spaces, such as apartments, where traditional pets like dogs and cats may be impractical due to space or expense. "As a result, there is growing interest in more unusual yet easier-to-keep pets — particularly terrestrial invertebrates, such as ants, large burrowing cockroaches, snails, spiders, and scorpions." Ms Lassaline said some rare queen ants, which were essential to establishing a colony, could sell for up to more than 33,000 Kenyan shillings. "Their high demand and limited availability make them especially vulnerable to illegal collection and poaching," she said. Ms Lassaline, who works tracking the illegal trade of animals in Australia and abroad, said it was particularly concerning to see ants were being targeted by traffickers. "Australian ant species are not only being sought after by hobbyists and collectors, but that their growing popularity could leave them vulnerable to illegal collection and poaching," she said. "Despite their size, ants play a big role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. "Disrupting their populations through unregulated trade or overharvesting could have far-reaching ecological consequences."
