Animal-lover kept endangered species in manner no different from ‘slow euthanasia’, Hong Kong court told
- Tuen Mun Court heard James Chai had a Jullien’s golden carp, a slow loris, three wood owls, two otters, four leopard cats and other animals
- Magistrate likened confinement of animals to ‘slow euthanasia’ as he explained they cannot adapt to human world
An “animal-lover” who ran a pet cremation service was slapped with 160-hour community service order on Friday after he was found to be keeping a variety of endangered animals in a manner no different from “slow euthanasia”.
Tuen Mun Court, which also fined James Chai Chee-cheung’s company HK$35,000, heard the animals included a Jullien’s golden carp, a slow loris, three wood owls, two otters, four leopard cats, four giant salamanders, a black pond turtle, two hawks and a monitor lizard.
They were found in tin houses and cages at Chai’s registered addresses in Yuen Long during a police inspection on January 23, which found he had no licence to justify his ownership.
His defence counsel had previously argued he was an “animal-lover” who took in endangered species rescued from the black market out of fear the Hong Kong authorities would put them down since they did not have proper source documents.
But that was dismissed by magistrate Jacky Ip Kai-leung, who countered Chai had shown no respect for the animals’ right to survival in a serious case involving a variety of endangered species.