Singapore: Endangered turtles sold in Singapore pet shops

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Endangered turtles sold in Singapore pet shops

 

By Teresa Geow

 

 

 

22 July 2005

 

Reuters

 

 

 

One in five pet shops in Singapore are selling endangered turtles, an animal

welfare group said on Friday.

 

 

 

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said its undercover

investigation of 100 Singapore pet shops had revealed the presence of endangered

species such as the Chinese stripe-necked turtle, the Chinese softshell turtle,

the Australian snake-necked turtle and the pig-nosed turtle.

 

 

 

Acres said protected turtles were found in 20 shops and that several were repeat

offenders, whose owners could be fined up to S$10,000 and jailed up to one-year

if they were caught by police.

 

 

 

" The penalties are important because they send the traders a deterrent message.

But they are insufficient, " Acres president Louis Ng told a news conference.

 

 

 

He said that last month government agency Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority

raided three pet shops, which were found selling endangered turtles, and

confiscated 47 animals.

 

 

 

The turtles are smuggled into Singapore from Malaysia, Indonesia and China, some

crushed into suitcases and cardboard boxes. Many die during the journey, and the

surviving ones are mistreated or kept in squalid conditions, Ng said.

 

 

 

Despite having strict regulations on animal trade, Singapore is a hub of illegal

wildlife trade because its location and busy harbour and airport make it a good

transshipment point.

 

 

 

In recent years, the AVA has confiscated hundreds of animals, including turtles,

tortoises, snakes, lizards and rare birds such as the cockatoo.