Laws Are For Enforcing

And High Court judges are for paying off, as is apparent in the most recent case of your-government-is-so-awesome-it-ignores-its-own-rules.


Guess what? Our favorite, most notorious wildlife trafficker in the world is on the loose again. Anson Wong, congratulations.  Have fun destroying the lives of a couple thousand more wild animals.


Thank you, ever honorable judge Low Hop Bing. 


So, y'all know that in 2010, our smartiepants trafficker decided it'd be great to shove 95 protected snakes in plastic bags in his luggage and take a holiday to Indonesia. And his bag fell open and there were snakes everywhere and no one noticed the snakes were there until this happened (good airport security, huh?). 


Anyways, he was caught and convicted, for a minimum of five years I believe. And on February 22, court of appeal judge Loh decided this trafficking thing was bogus and that he should serve 17.5 months for what he did.


Coincidentally, Wong had just reached the 17.5 month mark in his prison visit. 


Wonder what the judges reason was for lowering the sentence? "It also erroneously considered irrelevant factors like that the 95 snakes were kept in a small bag and were being tortured."


Irrelevant? Really? What kind of callous, hard-hearted imbecile does it take to believe that this was not cruelty? What exactly do you consider torture, then, Mr. Loh? Waterboarding? What do you consider it then? Some good ol' jolly fun for these snakes? Maybe you'd like me to shove you in a plastic bag in my luggage next time I fly. 


I'd rather enjoy it, since you wouldn't be able to say anything about it. It's not torture, mistreatment, cruelty, or any of that sort of irrelevant stuff. Nope. I won't even erroneously consider it. I might even take the time to make the plastic bag airtight. I'm sure you'd enjoy that, as you seem to think the snakes did (especially the ones that DIED#$@#$!![I have no idea what that spelt, but it looks mean and nasty so I'll roll with it. I'm not actually swearing, k?]).


(insert swear word of choice that's pretty offensive but not too offensive since I don't like those kinds of words all that much to conclude here)

Under the Spotlight

Most people probably don’t know this, but Malaysia actually lies at the center of the wildlife trade. Between a corrupt, un-enforced law against wildlife trade and an abundance of untouched rainforest, Malaysia is seemingly the perfect place to set up shop.

            With quickly disappearing rainforests, devoted to palm plantations and development, no one will really notice that all the animals that are left in the forests are going. Dozens of animals are killed every night just from crossing highways that cut through sections of forests called ‘corridors’. These corridors connect fragments of forest together and keep the gene pool diverse. These highways have been established with ‘underpasses’ for the animals to use – I don’t understand how they came up with that. Because the tapir that’s wandering through the forest is going to be all: ‘Oh look! It’s an underpass! I should use it so I don’t have to cross the highway and get squished’. Not to question an animal’s intelligence, but that is just not how they were made.

            On top of this, the government has only just started to show it has any sign of a spine, however small it may be. They convicted Anson Wong and have sent him to jail, which is to be applauded even though it was only for six months, with a fine of RM190,000. The Malaysian government is known for it’s corruption and nepotism, and it is feared that these wildlife traders are paying off any law enforcement officers that get their hands on them; on top of this, these traders must have some inside deals going on! Somebody within the government is in on this, and is maintaining Malaysia’s position as an easy place to do dirty business.

            Just imagine how booming the economy would be if the wildlife trade counted as a legal form of business? The illegal wildlife trade is currently the third most lucrative business there is – with prices being higher than they have ever been. A single tiger skin can fetch up to US$20,000, a tooth US$700.

            China, I continue to show you my gratitude for maintaining demand for such wonderful things. Really, thank you so much. (NOT.)

Good Stuff!

In other news: The BBC crew has rediscovered a population of tigers in Bhutan, at an elevation of over 4000 meters (13,000 feet)! http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8998000/8998042.stm  This is good news, even if no exact numbers are known; there is evidence that these tigers are breeding. Also good news for tigers– the finding of these tigers is helping with Panthera’s ‘The Tiger Corridor Initiative’.

            And: THE KINGPIN HAS BEEN CAUGHT AGAIN!! He was caught coming from Thailand, through Penang and KL and onto Jakarta, with 95 boa constrictors in his luggage. Who keeps almost a hundred snakes in their bags and think that airport security won’t notice? Kingpin has been arrested – and has done jail time -  in the US before under animal trafficking charges, among other things.

            The Kingpin is the world’s most notorious wildlife dealer. More on this bumface here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/asian-wildlife/christy-text

…This is revealing yet another problem within the fight to stop the illegal wildlife trade – corruption! But who’s surprised, really?

But yes, a good day for wildlife overall! J