VENOMLAND MEMBER SMUGGLER?

disturbing news,

today i found the following add at www.terraristik.com

i have received other informations about our member Chunhei Kwok is "importing" snakes from the philippines on an regular base, he even claims he is a friend of mine and the snakes where from my breeding. besides, without proper papers there will be no legal and proper shipment out of the country. at least, it is animal cruelty if snakes will be transported in luggage or via mail. (we have statements, he also mailed animals with normal mail service!)

clear is: he offered on march 6, 2008 Tropidolaemus subannulatus at this austrian server, see screen-print below.


the offer at Terraristik.com


the details to the seller (just google up the email address, and you find the real name)

clear is: exporting wildlife from the philippines is a crime without proper export permits. and export permits only will be granted if the animals came from, 1.) captive breeding facilities, 2.) from a wildlife farm permit holder 3.) if shipped by following IATA standards and finally 4.) if transport permits from DENR, CENRO, PENRO or/and PAWB are secured, veterinarian certifications are granted and an export permit from BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry) is secured.

unclear is: how did he get this animals out from the Philippines and what did he has to say..


its up to you Chunhei, can you show us here some legal documents (which i draught, coz i am the only legal source for this animals here) or what do you have to say?


i post this publicly because you also offer your animals in public.



sad man, real sad!

There's another add from July 2007, where Tropidolaemus "wagleri" from Negros and Palawan have been offered for sale.
No doubt at all, illegal !
We're waiting for your statement, Mr. Kwok!

Regards
Peter

Except of the fact that such kind of guys harm the nature in an unacceptable way -
Every guy who keeps snakes legaly, who pay a lot of money for babies, raise them, trying to breed, invest a lot of work ... should feel pissed of.

lets see what Mr. Kwok has to say...

i wrote him an PM and informed him about this posting here, so he has a chance to explain this whole matter...


cheers
Mario

T. subannulatus could presumably have come from Borneo/Kalimantan - but of course if he says his are from Negros and Palawan, that alibi becomes a little unconvincing....

Mr. Detective Lutz,

Where did you get the "solid info" about I am a smuggler?
Actually, I don't want to explain it. However, your misleading information makes me not happy...
First, I didn't tell anybody that I am your friend...actually, I knew you 2 yrs ago through MSN but I only asked you questions about T.wagleri in philippines...
Second, I did not say my snakes were come from your "breeding project"
Third, I DID NOT import the snakes in Philippines directly. I bought the snakes in HK shop and I can say I did not break any LAWs in Hong Kong. T. subannulatus is not in CITIES and it's not protected in the HK ordinance.
Forth, In the ad. from Terraristik.com, Did I say I ship the snakes in postal service? Did I say I sell only in Europe?
Fifth, in HK, we can export the animals legally from air cargo. The business permit is easy to get, only 200euros annually. After you got the business permit, then you can apply the export permit for shipment. The department do not need the export permit from the orgin as the permit is only under HK ordinacne.

Finally,you can check (I assume you have the power) that any european buy/ do the trade from me, please show me the evidence.

Yes, maybe you're right, you're the only LEGAL source that export from Philippines. You can say I am illegal to do this ethically but not illegal in legislative system.

It's sad that this species seems to be "patent" from you.... and now you defence it and eliminate all of the hobbists and dealers whom were not from your source....

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

Mr. Detective Lutz,

Where did you get the "solid info" about I am a smuggler?

i dont have any information about, if you are a smuggler, or not (thats why the question mark), but if something like this is coming up, i will ask you. if you answer - thats up to you.

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

I don't want to explain it. However, your misleading information makes me not happy...
First, I didn't tell anybody that I am your friend...actually, I knew you 2 yrs ago through MSN but I only asked you questions about T.wagleri in philippines...

Second, I did not say my snakes were come from your "breeding project"

ill understand if your unhappy with this situation, i would be unhappy as well, hell i would!
let me see, if the source of it will post somethings to the other part or not, but this is not the Point Hei, the point is: i receive many times animals from miss lucked exportations from the philippines. and i am sick of it, sick to my stomach to see all this deat and nerly death animals unprofessionally packed up, coz it is illegal to export wildlife in the Philippines! that illegal wildlife trading has to stop!

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

I DID NOT import the snakes in Philippines directly. I bought the snakes in HK shop and I can say I did not break any LAWs in Hong Kong. T. subannulatus is not in CITIES and it's not protected in the HK ordinance.

thats the same answer i always get from everybody, i am not satisfied with it! folks in the USA keep telling me their Varanus olivaceus was purchased legally coz the aniamals have CITES papers from Malaysia so they buy them, even they do know the papers are a farce - but in their countries - they dont breaking any law, or their Parias mcgregori are non Cites animals and therefore legal in Europe. in fact, its a violation of the PHILIPPINE WILDLIFE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9147. and several more and it is fined with minimum of 6 years imprisonment! in my understanding, it is wildlife crime, and many guys all over the world see it the same way.

anyway, you claim you bye your animals from a pet shop in Hong Kong, so you are NOT AN SMUGGLER ! fine the question is answered!
but are´nt you supporting the illegal pet trade, since years? you know exactly the animals been shipped out illegally, i told you this before! and because you try to sale them in Europe or anywhere else makes it worse, claiming the animals where legal because you dont break any law yourself!

what kind of guy are you? are you really an hobbyist who loves his animals? or are you an business maker, dont care how many of the animals you try to sale lost their lives, even before they arrive at this pet store you buy them from?

if you are one of the good guys (and no others are members here!) help us to whip this illegal business out. give me the contact informations from the pet store, let me have further investigations done so we all can stop this shit together!

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

Forth, In the ad. from Terraristik.com, Did I say I ship the snakes in postal service? Did I say I sell only in Europe?
Fifth, in HK, we can export the animals legally from air cargo. The business permit is easy to get, only 200euros annually. After you got the business permit, then you can apply the export permit for shipment. The department do not need the export permit from the orgin as the permit is only under HK ordinacne.

also this is not the point Hei, the point can be found above. snakes are not supposed to be exported in the philippines. therefore you only can smuggle them out of the country, in luggage via mail service or, even worse: on boat, for weeks without professional handling! more than 85% of the so transported animals will die or are death already before they even reach their destinations. most of them die already here in the philippines before even been packed. i have seen hundreds of death snakes in coke bottles, nets and gasoline canister within the last recent years. it does not make it any better if you state it is legal in hong kong! you know better and you should stop supporting the illegal trade by buying this animals!

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

Yes, maybe you're right, you're the only LEGAL source that export from Philippines. You can say I am illegal to do this ethically but not illegal in legislative system.

It's sad that this species seems to be "patent" from you.... and now you defence it and eliminate all of the hobbists and dealers whom were not from your source....

its just sad that you see it this way Hei - if you are really and animal lover, you should see it from a different angle..
my posting was not about judging you, my posting is about to discuss this topic and make somethings clear! its also not about "protecting my own business as you wright in your msn, i dont have a "animal business" - except you call an wildlife rescue center and zoological institute this way. it is about protecting the animals! nothing less. and you can help - active help this will be maybe more rewarding to you guys than selling them. try it!

i hope, you think about this, and i also hope you will come to the conclusion to stop buying illegal purchased animals, for the sake of them - not for me!


cheers
Mario

an link to the THE PHILIPPINE WILDLIFE REPUBLIC ACT



and this is how it look like, the "nice guy trade" in the philippines

the picture has been taken 2006 at the international airport in manila, also this snakes was brought to my place, 60% where death upon their arrival here! (what quality animals are you expecting in your terrarium? snakes, transported this way?) of corse, nobody of this so called "Hobbyist" show you this photos, you only see the "then legal survivors" sitting in any Terrarium, in any pet store in Hong Kong, or somwhere in the world! by the way, this illegal shipment also includes CITES ANIMALS like Naja samarensis, Naja philippinensis, Varanus cumingi, somebody else was worrying i might have a "Patent" of philippine Reptiles! what a nice way to change this!

i forgot somethings:

pay 200 bucks for an business permit in hong kong and you break every ethically code in the world, even support crimes in foreign countries would be legal by magic!

Chunhei Kwok wrote:

sad that this species seems to be "patent" from you.... and now you defence it and eliminate all of the hobbists and dealers whom were not from your source....

and yes, you are damn right, i am protecting and defending this animals and their natural habitats. you bet i do, i have and i always will!

eliminating Hobbyists? nope, coz in my eyes are hobbyists caring peoples, folks who support and protect animals they care for. even if its not popular!

eliminating dealers? only the guys who dont give a damn, the dealer who deal with endangered and protected species, illegal animals and focusing only their cash-flows! yes, i do fight against such guys! i am working very hard on it to discover them, and have them prosecuted if possible, even in their home countries!

you ask peoples like Peter Zürcher, Peter Pastor, Marc Jäger, Jörg Portsmann, Christoph Rothenbühler, Nicolas Vidal, Gernot Vogel, Patrik Mattsson, Christian Chudoba, Gavin Carpenter, Karsten Hoer, Carsten Frömberg or Robert Meidinger, all guys was waiting for a long time to get their hands on legal animals from the Philippines. all this guys are working hard to breed the species they have from us, some of them since years! Peter had breed already Naja samarensis, Naja philippinensis successful in Captivity, Jörg has eggs from Parias flavomaculatus and so on. it would be much easier for them to just buy some illegal animals, they are cheaper - easier to get. so ask them why they was waiting so long to have legal and healthy animals? guess what they think about guys who just selling their cheap and illegal animals?

or ask the guys like Matt Yuyek, Benjamin Lutz, Patrik Mattsson, Marc Cox, guy´s who work or worked here in the Philippines to protect wildlife, and achieved some of the most successful conservation breeding programs for reptilians you can find today. ask them what they think about your activities!

yes, i also protecting this peoples, who has become friends over the years, supporting the fight against illegal trade.

i think you clearly can see, you are not fit into this group here at all. your statements show clearly that you dont care. you only care if you can be caught in Hong Kong or not. let me tell you, if you come to the Philippines, we watch your luggage here very well!


your account has been terminated, this board is called Reptileman´s VenomLand - and i want this board to be a platform for the good boy´s, the real interested peoples on herpetology, biology and conservation. every hobbyist is warmed welcome her, but not folks like you!


have a wonderful time somewhere else in the web!



Cheers
Mario

Mario,

That picture of snakes in bottles makes me sick. But, people need to see the horrors that animals go through.

Just because an animal is legal in Country "A" after it is illegally smuggled out of Country "B", that doesn't mean the people buying those animals to sell in their stores are innocent. They are just as guilty in my eyes. As you stated, they are at least guilty of supporting the smuggling. If there wasn't a market for illegal animals, people wouldn't be trying to smuggle them out. So people who buy these animals, knowing they are illegal or not are still guilty of supporting the illegal pet trade. I vote we pass a law that allows the guilty party to be tortured to death for smuggling.

Randy

Randy,

exactly - thats the point!

dont get me wrong guys, years back, i have brought snakes from thailand, also in my luggage home. if i have done it, than one pair or somethings, never in numbers to get my money for the trip back. thats not an excuse, i have done wrong! i know that today, it is just picture like the "bottle snakes" and hundred of death and injured animals i have seen in the last recent years.

you say the pictures makes you sick? you should experience it live, the death animals, the custom guys in asia who laugh about it, the smell who comes out of this boxes, luggage and so on... if this is not changing you, what else could? you are right Randy if there is no marked and nobody who buy them - there would be no illegal trade and not so much animals need to suffer! the point is, by giving money for this animals we only mislead this guys, nice business they would say and they will go back in the forest to pick up some more.... i would, if i where pure like them!

many times locals come and try to sale animals to us, i send them away, always! they ask me "what i am going to do now with this deer, snake, wild boar ?" eat it, release it or leave it with us, we will take care of it is the only answer we have for them. no money - no business!

besides, everybody tell me Tropidolaemus cant be kept in captivity. what is it you expect if they been transported like the animals, seen on the picture?

it just makes no sense, 100 snakes lost their lives for 3 to survive? and 3 survive for punks who have only money in their minds. i have sympathy for all guys who try to help to stop activities like that. i understand folks who collect one pair snakes in the wilderness and bring them home, i have no understanding whatsoever for freaks who make a living with the suffer and torture of this pure creatures.

i really hope Hei will understand this once and get back on track - for the love of this animals! for their survival in their natural habitats! for beauty of nature, who will be very sad if we keep loosing our animals, all around the world!


cheers

just to let you guys know what we have lost in this certain guys here, and just to give you the information about their reactions after being banned here i will post some statements. both guys, Chunhei Kwok and Toni Ngai, both from Honk Kong added follow lines to their msn profile online, for everybody to see:



Toni Ngai, Hong Kong reacts with this lovely words:

"Mario Lutz is a mother **** sucker , just a busniess man but talk rescue wildlife??? suck! rescare but sale WC animals????!! "



Chunhei Kwok (earthtiger), Hong Kong loves to say this at his msn about me:




well, i think we where just right to keep this guys away here! dont you think so?



cheers
Mario