California Turtle and Tortoise Club
TURTLE ACTION NEWS
July to September 1998
Arrests Made in USFWS Probe of International Reptile Trade
9/15/98 The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reported the arrest of an international wildlife dealer and the apprehension of two other individuals on Federal charges related to the smuggling and sale of endangered and protected reptiles.
On September 14 Mexican authorities, working with USFWS, arrested Keng Liang "Anson" Wong when he arrived at the airport in Mexico City for a meeting with undercover agents in a "sting" operation. USFWS claims that Wong, who operates Sungai Rusa Wildlife in Penang, Malaysia, is the kingpin of an international smuggling operation that plundered reptiles from southeast and central Asia, New Zealand, and Madagascar for sale in the United States and other markets. Wong faces charges in the US of conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering, and making false statements as well as for 14 felony violations of the Lacey Act. He will be held in Mexico while the United States pursues formal extradition.
Following Wong's arrest in Mexico, USFWS arrested two men in the US. Beau Lee Lewis, 20, owner of a Buckeye, Arizona wildlife import/export business and Michael Burroughs, 47, a San Francisco resident who allegedly served as a courier for Wong. Both face charges of conspiracy, smuggling, and Lacey Act violations.
USFWS has also indicted the famous Hong Kong reptile dealer, Yuk Wah "Oscar" Shiu, 39, of Hong Kong, who remains at large.
The Service reports that the species illegally traded by Wong and others included Madagascan radiated and spider tortoises, and Indonesian Fly river turtles. USFWS seized a variety of endangered species in connection with these arrests. These include 2 Geochelone yniphora, the Madagascan plowshare tortoise that is one of the most endangered species of reptile known; 3 Burmese star tortoises, Geochelone platynota; 2 Komodo dragons and 4 Gray's monitor. These are now in custody at the Los Angeles Zoo. According to Russ Smith, the zoo's Curator of Reptiles, the animals are expected to go on display soon, once they are out of quarantine.
USFWS Withdraws Proposed Rule on Humane and Healthful Transport of Live Reptiles and Amphibians
8/26/98 Following intense criticism from all sides, on August, 26 1998 USFWS published the official withdrawal of the proposed rule to amend 50 CFR part 14, subpart J, pertaining to the establishment of standards for the humane and healthful transport of live reptiles and amphibians to the United States.
According to the text of the withdrawal (Federal Register August 26, 1998, Vol 63 (165), 45444-45445), the Service intends to follow the internationally adopted standards laid down by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA intends to convene a meeting of its Live Animals and Perishables Board (LAPB) in Montreal, Canada, in October 1998 which will feature the introduction, consideration, and debate of amendments to its Live Animals Regulations for reptiles and amphibians.
See our January 1998 story for more background.
U.S. Reptile Dealer Faces Smuggling and Conspiracy Charges
8/7/98 According to a FWS Press Release, Tommy Edward Crutchfield, a well known reptile dealer, was arrested yesterday (8/6/98) at Miami Airport on his arrival on US soil following his deportation from Belize. Tom Crutchfield is charged with wildlife smuggling, conspiracy, and money laundering. The former Florida businessman has spent the last 5 months in jail in Belize fighting that country's February 28 expulsion order. He now faces U.S. charges based on his alleged involvement in a major international reptile smuggling ring.
Last October, a Federal grand jury in Orlando, Florida, returned a multi-count indictment against Crutchfield, his wife, two former employees, and two other individuals based on the Service's ongoing scrutiny of the highly lucrative black market reptile trade. The indictment alleges that the six were part of an international smuggling ring that is believed to have brought hundreds of rare and endangered snakes and tortoises out of Madagascar into Germany. From there, the animals, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, were smuggled into the United States and Canada where they were sold to wildlife dealers and private collectors. Protected reptiles from Australia, Indonesia, and various South American and Caribbean countries were also traded.
The smuggled reptiles, which were typically concealed in suitcases and transported aboard commercial airline flights, include highly prized Madagascar tree and ground boas, radiated tortoises, and spider tortoises- species that occur naturally only in Madagascar, an island off the southeastern coast of Africa. These animals, and the other reptiles allegedly smuggled, purchased, and sold, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) - a global agreement that regulates world wildlife trade.
Crutchfield, who was named in all 10 counts of the indictment returned by the grand jury in October, is charged with multiple offenses of smuggling, violations of the Lacey Act (a Federal statute that allows the United States to prosecute individuals for violating international wildlife protection laws, including CITES), conspiracy, and money laundering.
If found guilty, Crutchfield could be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and fined as much as $250,000 on each smuggling and Lacey Act count. Conviction on the money laundering charges could result in prison terms of up to 20 years and penalties as high as $500,000 per count.
Crutchfield, formerly the president of Tom Crutchfield's Reptile Enterprises, Inc., located in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, was generally considered one of the largest reptile importer/exporters in the United States before he left the country in the spring of 1997. He was on supervised release following completion of a 5-month prison sentence for a 1995 conviction for smuggling endangered Fiji Island iguanas when he fled to Belize after being notified by the Justice Department that he was under investigation. He also faces potential penalties for violating the supervised release.
The reptile investigation has already produced significant results, according to Service law enforcement officials. In addition to the charges against Crutchfield and his associates, four individuals from Germany, South Africa, Canada, and Japan have been arrested and successfully prosecuted in the United States. Of these, German citizen Wolfgang Michael Kloe received the stiffest sentence--a $10,000 fine and 46-month prison term--after pleading guilty to six counts including conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering, attempted escape, and Lacey Act violations. Three other Germans charged in the case remain at large.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Set To Reject Injunction on Sale of Live Food Animals
7/22/98 On April 15, 1997, the Coalition for Healthy and Humane Business Practices filed suit in the California Superior Court seeking an injunction against 12 San Francisco live animal markets to stop these markets from continuing to violate health laws, which prohibit the keeping and killing of live animals where food is sold, and humane laws which prohibit the torment and torture of animals. This was an endeavor to end the practice of selling live birds, fish, turtles and frogs for food.
Today (7/22/98) the Superior Court judge in the case tentatively rejected the claims of the Coalition. Although he recognized that stripping shells from turtles before killing them is (sic) "distasteful," the Superior Court judge said he found no evidence of torture or cruelty!!!! The judge's final ruling must be made within 90 days of the trial and is expected in the next few days.
Protests Planned Against X'cacel Beach Development
7/22/98, 8/7/98 As reported earlier, X'cacel, a critical sea turtle nesting beach, in Quintana Roo, Mexico, has recently been sold for development. X'Cacel importance has been well documented by scientists. Biologists say X'cacel Beach, a strip of land 1.25 miles long, is the most important sea turtle nesting ground in the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
You can help SAVE X'CACEL:
Sign the PETITION below and ask your friends to sign it too. Organize or join a protest near you! Protest packages will be provided to coordinators, which include templates for flyers, media advisories, and press releases. You only need to bring people and signs. If you are not near a Mexican Embassy or a Sol Melia resort, organize a petition drive, collect signatures at a prominent location, write letters to the editor of your local paper. If you can coordinate your local protest please contact Mary Louise Whitlow.
In San Francisco a protest is planned for July 29th at the Mexican Consulate. For more information contact Earth Island's Sea Turtle Restoration Project at (415) 488-0370 or by e-mail seaturtles@earthisland.org.
Protests are planned for:
Dallas, Texas, contact Mary Louise Whitlow
Houston, Texas, contact Carole Allen (281) 444-6204
San Antonio, Texas, contact Donald Barnes
Los Angeles, California, contact Roland Windsor Vincent
Spain, contact Luis Felipe Lopez Jurado
Mexico City, contact Juan Carlos Cantu, phones and fax: (5) 536 4173, 536 4167
Colombia, contact Diego AmorochoPETITION
This petition will be sent to the governor of Quintana Roo, the President of Mexico, the secretary of tourism and the heads of SEMARNAP (Mexico's EPA) and the National Institute of Ecology.
The petition Reads:
We, the undersigned, request that the Mexican government stop the planned development of X'cacel, Quintana Roo, Mexico; that all 311 hectares are set aside as a permanent reserve without any construction allowed. If not we will seriously consider spending our future vacations some place that protects endangered species. Please incorporate X’cacel into the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) and preserve it as a permanent preserve!
To be added to the petition just click X'cacel Petition and give your name, city, state and country as the message. Please ask others to sign the petition too.
See our earlier stories on the Greenpeace demonstration and X'cacel update for more information on what is happening to this major sea turtle nesting beach.
US Appeals WTO Ruling On Import of Turtle Safe Shrimp
7/13/98 Press Release Office of the United States Trade Representative Today the Office of the United States Trade Representative filed its formal notice of appeal of the WTO panel report that addressed U.S. measures restricting shrimp imports. The panel report, issued on April 6, 1998, found the import restrictions to be inconsistent with U.S. obligations under the WTO Agreement.
The United States 'Shrimp-Turtle Law' at issue in the case restricts imports of shrimp harvested with equipment that harms endangered species of sea turtles. At the time the panel report was issued, USTR Charlene Barshefsky announced that the United States believed the panel reached the wrong conclusion, and noted that the WTO Agreement recognizes the rights of WTO members to adopt these types of laws for the purpose of conserving exhaustible natural resources.
The appeal will be heard by a three-member panel of the WTO's standing Appellate Body. The Appellate body should issue its findings within ninety days.
The panel report is available on the WTO website.
For more information see our earlier story.
CTTC Opposes California Assembly Bill 409
7/12/98 In a unanimous vote, California Turtle and Tortoise Club's Executive Board voted at its July 11, 1998 meeting to oppose California Assembly Bill 409. The Bill was originally proposed in February 1997 to facilitate the ability of the Department of Fish and Game to regulate the take of endangered species. Over the last year the bill has evolved and has completely changed its focus. No longer concerned with the protection of endangered species, the bill proposes instead to expand the Department of Fish and Game's jurisdiction to include domesticated and non-native species in an apparently bizarre attempt by the Department to prevent the legislature from passing laws that would legalize the possession of ferrets in the state.
AB 409, Restricted Animals: Importation, Transportation, and Possession would replace the word "wild animal" with the term "restricted animal" and give the Department of Fish and Game the power to classify any animal species as a restricted animal. That power is currently shared by the Department and by the Legislature.
Under AB 409, the Legislature would no longer be able to remove species from the list of restricted species nor will it be able to safe-guard the rights of owners of pets that are deemed restricted. Proponents of the bill say that only the Department has the expertise to evaluate which animal species should be restricted. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever been to one of the Fish and Game Commission hearings can testify, the Department has shown time and time again that politics often play a far more important role than data in their decisions. Once an animal is placed on the restricted list, possession as a pet becomes illegal.
Additionally, current Fish and Game Commission regulations contain a list of "wild animals" which may not be imported, transported, or possessed in the state without a permit. Unless AB 409 is amended to include a list of already designated restricted "wild animals" there would be no extent regulation of any of the currently prohibited species (including snapping turtles) in California.
The bill is currently being considered by the California Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee chaired by Senator Tom Hayden. You can e-mail the Committee at: Comm.Nat.Res@SEN.CA.GOV