Australien Government
Customs media release
Endangered reptiles saved by Customs and Border Protection - Monday, 23rd February 2009


Customs and Border Protection has continued its crackdown on wildlife smuggling by arresting a 24-year-old Sydney man for allegedly attempting to smuggle 44 native reptiles out of Australia through Sydney International Airport.

Included in the seizure was one Albino Carpet Python, an extremely endangered species with numbers estimated to be as low as 100, and worth approximately $20,000.

The reptiles were detected in the man's checked bags during x-ray screening of outgoing passenger luggage by airport security staff after the man checked in for a flight to Bangkok on Friday.

Customs and Border Protection officers attended and opened the man's bags and found a number of live reptiles concealed in socks and cloth bags.

The bags were unpacked and allegedly found to contain 24 Shingleback Lizards, 16 Bluetongue Lizards and four snakes. The snakes have been identified as three Black Headed Pythons and one Albino Carpet Python, both endangered species.

Customs and Border Protection investigators responded and removed the man from the aircraft and subsequently arrested and charged him with attempting to export native species without a permit.

The reptiles in the smuggling attempt are estimated to be worth between $160,000 and $200,000 on the black market. The reptiles have been transferred to Sydney Wildlife World where they have undergone health checks and are being cared for.

Customs and Border Protection National Manager Investigations, Richard Janeczko, said wildlife smuggling is a serious crime.

"Customs and Border Protection continues to prevent, investigate and prosecute wildlife smuggling attempts into and out of Australia in a bid to end this cruel practice," Mr Janeczko said.

Mr Janeczko urged members of the public to report any suspicious or unusual activity in their local area to the Customs and Border Protection Hotline on 1900 06 1800.

The man, from Bonnet Bay in Sydney, has been granted conditional bail and is due to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on 24 March 2009.

The man will face court on charges relating to the export of native species without a permit under section 303DD(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The maximum penalty for illegal importing or exporting wildlife under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is $110,000 and/or 10 years jail.








Edited by Admin: for resizing images

another example...

the australian government issues permits to shoot native wildlife, (2006 where more than 250.000 parrots shoot in australia, legally by farmers who claimed they destroy there fields!), but its almost impossible to get legal export and/or import permits there.. stupidity i think... instead giving controlled quotas to export instead, and use the income for conservation work...

"albino carpet python - extremely endangered!?" as if the feller would found them in the field... i am almost 100% certain, that we talk about one of the thousands albino carped cb in aussiland... also the shinglebacks, well, who ever went to australia, you can found them almost in every backyard in some areas, if i am not mistaken, in europe you need to pay as much as 1.500 Euro´s! that is what feeds mainly the illegal wildlife trade!

in september 2008 where ballpythons, retics and green treepythons euthanized after being found at the airport where somebody tried to smuggle them in to australia for quarantine reasons.. (nice move!)

sarcasm? sure not, just my 5 cents to stupid rules and regulations

I couldn't agree more, Mario.

"one Albino Carpet Python, an extremely endangered species with numbers estimated to be as low as 100" - that has to be one of the most retarded and biologically absurd statements I have ever come across in this context. One has to ask whether this is a deliberate piece of misinformation to trump up charges against the individual involved and get public support for what is a trivial action, or whether someone in Customs and Border Protection actually believes this. Either way, it does not paint a flattering picture...

All the species involved are common species that only acquire their remarkable price tags *because* of the Australian export restrictions. "Legalise it, tax it and regulate it" would be a much more sensible approach to the trade in common species.

Completely agreeing to You both.
Allowing import/export of CBs, taking some cash for it and regulating WCs tough - and everybody should be satisfied.
But - politicians make the rules, not specialists. And they do this according to misinformation, little information or simply thought of how to gain votes at the next election ...

we fight here in the philippines some similar stupid policies...

its totally allowed to kill animals, for food reason (i totally understand), because of fear, because we dont see the connections between destroying their habitats and therefore kill whole populations... but try to get permits, its just a pain in the back, and some uneducated government employers dont seem to get the picture at all...

they raid 4 times a year the pet stores for illegal animals - i need to add, keeping wildlife in the philippines at all is illegal! also albino cornsnakes, african lovebirds and canaries are considered to be wildlife here - but nobody get any permit to trade legally...

we working since years to get stupid policies changed for the better...
one example, you can legally buy animals here only from accredited wildlife farm permit holders (we have only one hand WFP holders within the country), then you need to apply for an Certification of wildlife registration (CWR) in order to legalize your lovebird.. if you have your CWR, you can only swap - not sell - your offspring to other CWR holders! how stupid is that? the big shoot is, if you have an CWR issued, you can buy legally a Tiger, Puma, Lion or what so ever from a WFP holder, and most zoo´s sale animals like this even without permits, coz they in desperate need of money.. unbelievable!! how many times we have to deal with unwanted pet-tiger in backyards of private persons, they finally find out, if the big cat is 6 months she will not fit anymore in a 1.40cm x 90cm dog cage, and that is only if the animal is lucky... many times they just die coz nobody gives a damn anymore...

you only can control legal trade, illegal trade is not controllable at all... somebody should use their brains and start thinking...