Police round up dozens of endangered animal traders
A rare tortoise is seized from suspects.
A total of 44 suspects have been apprehended for allegedly trading protected and endangered wild animals, Shanghai police said on Monday.
The suspects, about 10 of whom were sellers, were rounded up on April 9 at 54 locations in Shanghai, with 180 rare tortoises, parrots and lizards seized from their possession.
Local police, who have been cracking down on such crimes recently, said they started investigating the case after finding clues on social networks where the suspects communicated with each other about buying and selling animals.
“They sent each other pictures and avoided mentioning the names of the animals when striking deals, but from the unusual price tags they put on the animals, we suspected that those were rare species,” said Shao Mengyang, the officer in charge of the case.
Some of the species involved in the case were Indian star tortoise, leopard tortoise and yellow-headed parrot, with certain individual animals selling for tens of thousands of yuan, police said.
Shao said that payments were made online, and customers usually took the animals in person from the sellers.
Among the suspects, 35 have been detained, and nine others were served administrative penalties by forestry authorities.
Police said they’re still investigating the source of the rare animals in this case.
Besides looking out for illegal trading of protected wildlife, police are also cracking down on illegal hunting, especially in suburban Chongming and Jinshan districts.
Dangerous hobby
Most of the suspected buyers of the rare animals were residents who wanted to raise them at home as pets, according to Shao.
Ma Bo, an official with the law enforcement department of the Shanghai Forestry Bureau, said some of the species cannot survive in Shanghai without strict humidity and temperature control, and they could also put residents’ safety at risk.
“Only credentialed individuals and organizations can legally raise certain animals, and since illegally sold animals are usually smuggled into the country without being subject to quarantine, they could carry dangerous diseases,” Ma said.
Forestry and agricultural authorities are currently in close cooperation with the police in cracking down on illegal wild animal trafficking, he said.
