Perhilitan director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hassan said mass euthanasia on confiscated live animals was allowed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which Malaysia became party to in 1978.
Several wildlife veterinarians are in uproar over Kadir’s recent confirmation that the popular pet turtles had been disposed of. The animals were seized by customs officials at klia2 in June from two Indians tourists who had flown in from China.
A spokesman for the group said killing the turtles en masse was inhuman. Disposing of them individually would have been more respectful, he added.
The veterinarian, who asked for anonymity, also said it wouldn’t be difficult to take care of all the seized turtles.
“All that’s needed are several large PVC tanks and running water,” he said. “I could have purchased those on my own. So I don’t see how an organisation like Perhilitan couldn’t.”
He alleged that Perhilitan officers are untrained to take care of animals.
He also said Perhilitan could have sued China for not taking back the turtles since they passed through Chinese customs and it could have handed them over to countries where the species is native to.
Kadir told FMT Perhilitan officers were trained in Malaysia and abroad and the disposal was done according to protocol.
He noted that red-eared sliders are listed as a controlled species in the Wildlife Conservation Act or Act 716, which makes it illegal for anyone to keep, buy, sell, import or export them.
He also cited the National Action Plan for Prevention, Eradication, Containment and Control of IAS in Malaysia, which has red-eared sliders in its Top 10 IAS list.
Species are listed as IAS if they can cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health.
Kadir said keeping the turtles captive could lead to the spread of disease.
“As this species is a controlled species under Act 716, their release into the wild is inappropriate and can endanger local species,” he added. “They also do not have any conservation value in Malaysia.”
CITES provides for several steps to be taken prior to euthanasia, including screening the confiscated animals for diseases, checking if there are spaces available to keep them captive and seeing if private individuals are able to care for them.
But Kadir said the national action plan for IAS took precedence.
“The plan mentions the turtle species while the CITES annex does not,” he said.
He added that Perhilitan proceeded with the euthanasia only after contacting China to see if it wanted to take back the animals and receiving no response.
He also said there were no requests from museums or research institutes for the specimens, as provided for under CITES.
He said the turtles were buried according to Perhilitan’s standard operating procedures.
Of the 5,255 baby turtles confiscated by customs in June, 2,274 of them were dead when they were handed over to Perhilitan on July 5. The 2,981 that were alive were in poor health.
All 5,255 were disposed of at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Perak.