Wildlife Enforcement Group welcomes gecko smuggler

Wildlife Enforcement Group welcomes gecko smuggler sentence

German tourist, Manfred Bachmann was sentenced to 15 weeks imprisonment today for the possession of 16 native jewelled geckos, after he was apprehended with them last month.

Today’s sentencing has been welcomed by the Wildlife Enforcement Group. Department of Conservation investigator, Stuart Williamson said that the judge’s sentenced reaffirmed that smuggling of native wildlife in New Zealand will not be tolerated.

“This sends a message to any would-be smugglers that New Zealand does not take wildlife smuggling lightly, and that those partaking in such illegal activities will be caught and dealt with accordingly.”

Two other men who were charged in connection with this incident also appeared in court today. Thomas Price of Switzerland pleaded guilty to the possession of absolutely protected wildlife, and Gustavo Toledo-Albarran of Spain pleaded guilty to hunting absolutely protected wildlife. They were remanded in custody until 29th March.

The 16 geckos had been placed in tiny plastic tubes that were sealed with tape, which was likely to have created undue amount of stress for the animals. Nine of the eleven female geckos were pregnant, but the stress of their capture may cause them to lose their young, which was the case for several of the pregnant females recovered in the previous gecko smuggling case of Hans Kubus in January.

“Any disturbance to our protected native species can have devastating effects on the local populations. Even low levels of poaching can place small populations of jewelled gecko sat risk of extinction” Williamson said.

Last month, a German tourist, Hans Kubus was jailed for 14 weeks and fined $5000 after he was found attempting to smuggle 44 native New Zealand gecko and skink out of the country in his underwear.

The Wildlife Enforcement Group (WEG), which works to prevent the trade in endangered species, is a partnership between the Department of Conservation, New Zealand Customs Service and the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry.

Jewelled geckos are found in pockets of habitat in eastern areas of the South Island, but numbers are greatly reduced due to predation by introduced mammals as well as habitat destruction. This has resulted in very small populations in some areas, which are at risk of any disturbance, including poaching.

ENDS

© Scoop Media