Aquarium owner receives jail time for importing protected animals

Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Chiayi District Court has sentenced an aquarium owner to nine months in prison for importing protected wild animals, including a king cobra, into Taiwan via express shipping four years ago.

According to a court document, the jail term was handed down on Tuesday against a man surnamed Su (蘇), who ordered one king cobra and six Asian water monitors, which are large lizards, to be sent via FedEx from Jakarta to Taiwan on Feb. 24, 2021.

The cargo was listed by its sender as containing "snacks," the court said.

Two days later on Feb. 26, Su completed an import registration form via EZ Way, a real-name authentication app for consignees, authorizing FedEx to handle the customs declaration at Taipei Customs.

Customs officials inspecting the package immediately notified authorities after discovering that it contained live wild animals, the court said.

The case was subsequently referred to Chiayi District Prosecutors Office for investigation as Su resides in the southern Taiwanese county, it said,

In the court document, Su was quoted as denying any involvement, claiming that he did not know what was in the package, but completed the import form anyway because he ran an aquarium business and usually receives a lot of packages.

However, the court pointed out that he would not have signed off on a package so casually if he did not know what was in it.

Moreover, there would have been no reason for him to download the EZ Way app, go through the trouble of completing the import form and authorize FedEx to declare the package, the court said, adding that its consignee information also matched his personal details.

The king cobra and Asian water monitors are currently classified by Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture as protected wildlife species, and also regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the court said.

The court said Su was found guilty of contravening the Act on Wildlife Conservation and sentenced to nine months in prison, although the ruling can still be appealed.