Guest guest Posted June 29, 2002 Report Share Posted June 29, 2002 South China Morning Post http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZP0MEAX2D.html Saturday, June 29, 2002 by CLIFFORD LO Four of more than 120 smuggled monitor lizards found abandoned in wooden boxes on a slope in Tai Po yesterday have died. Police were called to the Sam Mun Tsai Road slope near the junction with San Lan Road at about 9.30am when a 36-year-old man heard noises coming from the 18 boxes. Staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department were called in to rescue the monitor lizards. The reptiles are common in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia. A spokeswoman for the department said the boxes were a metre long and 33cm high, and contained 124 monitor lizards in all. There was no water or food. " Four of the animals probably died due to the hot weather. Some of the survivors are in poor health, " said senior field officer Chu Chak-kwan of the Endangered Species Protection Division. The lizards are 75cm to 120cm long and weigh between five and six kilograms. " They are believed to be for eating, " Mr Chu said. Lizards are a popular delicacy in many Guangdong restaurants. An officer from Tai Po police station said police suspect the animals had been imported illegally into Hong Kong. " It is possible that smugglers abandoned them after failing to find buyers on the mainland. It is too expensive and difficult to keep them, " the officer said. Police said they would conduct searches of Tai Po with conservation officials after an increase in reported sightings of the animals in the district in the past two months. On May 31, 236 lizards in 25 boxes were found dumped at five refuse collection centres in Ting Kok Road, Tai Po. All had to be put down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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