PETALING JAYA: Is Malaysia turning into an unwitting unlawful provider of reptiles and amphibians for India’s booming new pattern of unique pet possession?
This poser comes following three instances of numerous unique pets hand-carried by India-bound air passengers escaping detection at KL International Airport (KLIA), solely to be uncovered by the Indian authorities.
In essentially the most recent case on July 29, 47 snakes and two lizards have been smuggled out by a male Indian nationwide from KLIA to India.
About three weeks earlier, two males – each Indian nationals – have been caught on the identical airport with 6,850 dwell red-eared slider turtles of their checked-in baggage on arrival from KLIA. The child turtles have been hid in small bins.
In April, a Malaysian girl, who departed from KLIA, was discovered with 22 snakes of varied species in her baggage after she arrived at Chennai International Airport, additionally in southern India.
So, how did such numerous snakes of almost-adult measurement escape detection by scanners and the auxiliary police personnel manning them?
Exotic pet breeder Arawin Raj Pillai stated smugglers are consistently developing with new methods of concealing the creatures akin to wrapping them up in aluminium foil to keep away from being found by the airport authorities.
Arawin, proprietor of the shop Exotic by ARP, stated there’s a excessive demand for unique pets in India, particularly reptiles akin to ball pythons, however strict legal guidelines there prohibiting the import of such animals have led to acts of smuggling turning into rife.
He famous that the Indian market is big as a result of its inhabitants and the reptiles can fetch greater than twice the value they might command domestically.
He stated Indian syndicates choose smuggling unique pets from Malaysia and Thailand as they are often sourced at decrease costs and each nations have a brief flight time to India.
“Exotic pet ownership is a new trend in India but the country has very strict laws on the import of wildlife, especially reptiles. Having such tough laws is good but it can backfire if it makes it impossible to even own certain exotic pets. This opens up a market for illicit trade and smuggling.
“When exotic pet dealers are inconvenienced with too much hassle, such as getting multiple permits and other documentation, they will opt for the easy way of sourcing for these pets even if it is illegal,” he instructed The Star.
Though he helps stern enforcement, Arawin stated the import of unique pets needs to be allowed if the animals are bred ethically and never poached.
He added that the pythons and turtles smuggled into India are almost definitely sourced from unlawful breeders in Malaysia.
“At one time, Malaysia was known for having the world’s most notorious exotic animal smuggler.
Darren“All that changed and today, Perhilitan (Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia) is very consistent and strict in its enforcement.
“This has brought a sharp decline in the smuggling of protected wildlife and illegal breeding activities,” stated Arawin, who’s a Perhilitan-licensed ball python breeder.
Under the Wildlife Protection Act of India, these discovered proudly owning protected animals or unique pets with out permits or licences face a most jail time period of seven years and a high-quality as much as 25,000 rupees (about RM1,400).
Animal curator and conservationist Darren Chow agreed that the brand new pattern in India has led to unique pets being sourced from Malaysia as a result of decrease costs.
“Smuggling also avoids red tape. By evading the long process and cost of applying for import permits and ownership licence, the smugglers get to earn bigger profits,” he stated.
He, nonetheless, stated the smuggled unique pets are bred to cater for the pet market and never poached from the wild.
Although he agreed that smuggling them overseas is incorrect, Chow stated the pets are domesticated and rearing them is just not exploitative of wildlife or a risk to the ecology.
“They have gone through many generations of breeding and since they are domesticated, they might not survive if released into the wild as they have shed their survival instincts,” he stated.
Chow additionally identified that wildlife trafficking actions in Malaysia have vastly shrunk over time and the market has shifted to China and Thailand.
On Oct 5 final yr, an air cargo parcel of about 600 unique animals from Malaysia was seized in Mumbai, India.
The prohibited animals, which have been introduced in below the guise of aquarium fish and price almost RM1.7mil, comprised numerous decorative fish, turtles, tortoises, pythons, iguanas and lizards. More than 100 of the animals died throughout cargo.
