Man fined S$41,000 for illegally keeping 32 wild animals in HDB flat

SINGAPORE — A man has been fined of S$41,000 for the possession of illegal wildlife, the highest penalty that has been sentenced to a private individual for this offence.

Acting on a public tip off, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) had seized 32 wild animals from the man’s HDB flat on June 3 last year. The animals seized included a slow loris, black-tailed prairie dogs, ornate horned frogs and yellow-footed tortoises.

Investigations showed that all the animals had been imported into Singapore without the relevant import permits. Nineteen of them were endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and would require additional CITES import permits from the AVA.

As Singapore is a signatory to the CITES, it is an offence to be in possession or to trade in any illegally imported or acquired CITES species. The penalty is a fine of up to S$50,000 per specimen (up to of S$500,000) and/or jail of up to two years.

The AVA has asked members of the public who have information on illegal wildlife activities, to contact AVA at 6325 7625.