Hong Kong police arrest man over WhatsApp group offering endangered turtles, as officials recover 29 reptiles worth HK$100,000
- Raid on Tai Po residence nets 29 turtles belonging to six endangered species, prompting warnings from conservation experts over poaching threat to local reptiles
- Private WhatsApp group offering turtles believed to be targeting local clientele as chats were conducted in Cantonese and traditional Chinese, official says
Hong Kong police have arrested a man for allegedly offering endangered turtles on social media as conservation authorities confiscated 29 of the reptiles, estimated to be worth a total of HK$100,000 (US$12,810).
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department also seized seven turtle eggs and tools including fishing nets during a joint raid with police in Tai Po, the government on Thursday said.
The incident is the third enforcement case this year involving suspected illegal possession of protected wild animals and has prompted biologists to call for a clampdown on the “increasingly rampant” poaching of freshwater turtles in the city’s forests and streams.
The 29 recovered reptiles covered six species, including 14 big-headed turtles and three Reeves’ turtles, which are native to Hong Kong and classified as critically endangered and endangered, respectively.
The others were two yellow-margined box turtles, four Southeast Asian box turtles, two giant Asian pond turtles and four wattle-necked softshell turtles.
Yellow-margined and Southeast Asian box turtles are both listed as endangered, while the other two species are critically endangered.
“All turtles involved are listed species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” said Edward Lau Tak-chuen, an endangered species protection officer for the department.