you're gonna love what they said:

"Serahkan kepada Perhilitan.

Kamu orang melaka sangat bernasib baik sebab kami ada zoo melaka di sini untuk menempatkan haiwan haiwan yang di serahkan kepad kami."

yes i feel so lucky.... NOT!

LOL, that's really a hard one because the usage had not been standardized.

Americans mostly recognize the species Aldabrachelys gigantea nowadays while some European taxanomists (Pritchard, Bonin etc) prefers to use Dipsochelys elephantina and others (Ernst, Barbour) still call them Geochelone gigantea. And don't forget Dipsochelys dussumieri.

and although many treated them as a monotypic species, some taxonomists divided them further into different species and subspecies (D. hololissa/A.g.holilissa, D. arnoldii/A.g. arnoldii, etc) so we can conclude that a conclusive taxa had not been standardized.

however, if you're looking to declare them, I suggest that you use the name Geochelone gigantea as it is the only way that you're gonna get a permit. Act 716 only recognize Geochelone spp. but not the other synonymous genera.

you haven't got the special permission letter right? you'd need to redeclare.

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meanwhile, here's something to enjoy -



double nuchals on a mean looking impressa

photo taken @ Phu Luang Wildlife Research Station.

erk...you'd need to ask them about it cause I got no answer bro


i'm sorry for your loss bro.

anyway, the habitats of M. impressa are hills and montane forests, where the nights make lowlanders shiver like nuts. the last time I went up I caught a bad fever with blocked nasal passages, so I had to endure breathing through the mouth, sore throat, headaches and shaking body for 3 days while failing to spot a single tortoise in-situ LMAO. so yeah, that's the reason so many keepers (except Sam) failed to acclimatize them, besides the fact that they stress easily, normally initially only accept specialized diet, etc etc

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Jun 5 2011, 09:01 PM

ah.. sorry bro. I should've mentioned that my number had changed since 2007. aww man, very very sorry.

Exoreptiles brought some Chrysemys picta dorsalis, Pseudemys peninsularis and Mata mata, they were displayed at the back rows.

Andrew Lim (the guppy guy) brought some nice looking books and posters on tortoises and other reptiles.

Other than that, there are some stalls selling RES, Bettas and such. Overall, there are 3 notable stalls selling reptiles, mainly geckos, bearded dragons and colubrids.

I pestered around booth 156 (gecko shop) from 12noon to closing time yesterday.

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Jun 6 2011, 12:31 AM

yess, the occurence is a testament to the sloppy job done by the Department of Wildlife. Well done Perhilitan!!

I always knew that you are prudent when it comes to localities

Your F1 should already be 4 years old this year year ain't?

Nice going!!

Fly River (in which the name Fly River Turtle is derived) is in PNG. In fact, their range in Oz is a small fraction compared to PNG.


breed or keep? they require permit.



i reckon because they're almost always exported together with ornamental fish, in which authorities are not aware of what they're dealing with (???).

e.g. the case with axolotl, which are always described as 'mexican walking fish' (the importation goes under fisheries department) while in fact they are amphibians (which by law should be monitored by wildlife).

edit: but hey, hong kong wildlife and fisheries is integrated into one department, so i should be wrong

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Jun 13 2011, 04:04 PM

are you using corn cob bedding?

haven't heard of any development on RES. I went to Malacca Office today but most of the staffs there are not in (Saleng Zoo and other cases).

as for turtles, those which can be legally bought without documents are mostly Emydids (new world turtles) - cooters, painted, sliders (except res) and such. Mata mata is also non scheduled.

i'd say take no chances and just get everything settled tomorrow.

besides, the longer the grace period is, the longer will it take for us to get our permits.

i've been talking to some enforcement officers, and according to them, it is actually up to the State Directors to give recommendations on that matter (as by right, the power to grant special permission for RES is in the hands of the Director General) after the RESes are declared.

you should've just applied for keeping permit when you first got the receipt, would've saved you the hassle of doing the declaration.

the receipt is not a license, it just proves that you got your animals from a legal source. you would still need a permit.

what you need to do now is go to your respective wildlife office and ask them whether you can still apply for a keeping permit using the receipt, or if you need to make a declaration under 716. bring along photocopies of your IC and the receipt.

well, declaration under 716 is a process to get animals recognized, recorded and legalized in order to issue license for keeping them. in your case, the animals itself are legal but you still haven't got the permission to keep them.

the liability is yours since the animals would be in your premise under your charge. the seller could not be charged since he sold it legally. him failing to tell his buyers to get a license is not an offense under the law if he already provided a valid receipt as per required by Section 44 of Act 716.

but the buyer (you) is liable to be charged for possession of animals without a valid license under section 60 of Act 716 (50k/2 years prison). even failing to provide a license upon demand by a wildlife officer in itself is an offense under Section 17 of 716 (10k/6 months jail).

i guess you know the story about anson wong and the 95 confiscated boas that led to his imprisonment right? those boas came from a legal source with documents, like in your case, the animals themselves are legal. what led to his arrest, confiscation and subsequent punishment is the fact that he didn't have a permit to get the boas over to Indonesia. (as per required under Section 10 of Act 686).

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Jun 27 2011, 03:15 PM

nice, your situation with the leos seems good.

good luck

Hi, since you're new here, maybe you'd be interested to know that 80% of chelonians in the market are now protected.

There will be a final briefing session regarding the new law (Act 716) in Melaka.

Date: 30/06/2011
Time: 9.30am
Venue: PERHILITAN Melaka Meeting Room, Aras 18, Menara Persekutuan, (MITC).

ow f*ck... i almost shitted carrot seeing that.

what is Taiwanese turtle? Ocadia sinensis?

a_sim, i second the fact that they don't do well in captivity.

those Bell's and Forest are WC specimens, their shipment came in February along with those sidenecks, ball pythons and a few others (now you can guess from where ).

those hingebacks had been in the fiber tank since.

send our regards to ah tung, uncle and auntie next time LOL.

no they don't recognize that name haha.