SHAH ALAM: A 25-year-old hotel worker was arrested for keeping a baby Honey Bear, a Leopard Cat and a Slow Loris in a condominium unit in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.
All the animals, which are endangered species, were found in individual cages in the unit, where the woman was living with her male relative.
The woman has since been released on bail untill Dec 29 after giving her statement.
The animals were found during a raid carried out on Friday evening by the enforcement officers from the Selangor Wildlife Department following a public tip-off.
Department deputy director Mohammad Khairi Ahmad said they were now looking for the woman's male relative, who is in his 30s, to help the department in its investigation.
He said only the woman and the animals were in the house when enforcement officers arrived.
The Leopard cat seized during a raid at a condominium in Shah Alam. Initial investigation showed the animals could have been bought from orang asli in Negri Sembilan and kept as a pet in the condominium in the past three months, he told a press conference here on Monday.
Khairi said the baby bear could be sold for about RM5,000 while the cat and the slow loris was worth about RM500 each in the market.
He warned that the public not to keep or buy wildlife as it was against the law.
"This case is only the tip of the iceberg and we believe there are many out there who are having wild animals as pets in their home.
"This is not the way to love the wildlife. They belonged to the wild," he added.
Khairi also said usually, a hunter would have to kill the mother of a cub before he could take away the animal, which was a cruel act.
He added that the department would get a court order to send the animals to the Malacca Zoo or released them back to the wild.
source: The Star Online
date: December 7, 2009
story by: Christina Tan
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