EAST AFRICAN STANDARD (Nairobi, Kenya) 22 August 08 No Japan trip for reptiles (Philip Mwakio)

Undercover Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers impounded a consignment of snakes, geckos and spiders that were being exported to Japan without valid export documents.

The seizure at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa took place on Wednesday.

KWS Assistant Director–Coast Philip Mwakio said a clearing agent who was arrested as he presented the consignment for clearance was being held at the Airport Police Station.

But Mr Marc Vosskaemper, a director with Mabokoni Reptile Farm and Investments PLC in Ukunda at the South Coast cried foul over the seizure.

He claimed his firm has had a licence for breeding reptiles since 2005 and insisted the export was purely for scientific research because his company was not going to benefit financially.

“We have been in operation since 2005. KWS is aware of our operations,” he told The Standard at the KWS offices where he had been summoned to record a statement on Thursday.

He added that freight charges for the reptiles’ export had cost them $500.

The reptiles, which were in a package labelled “live animals”, were destined for an address in Tokyo, Japan. Inside the package were ten whip spiders, ten camel spiders, one Jackson tree snake, one olive marsh snake, five brown house snakes, one cape wolf snake, five flat-snouted wolf snakes, three forest wolf snakes, three East African shovel snout snakes and three tiger snakes.

Others were three Tana Herald snakes, 18 Williams Hinged terrapins, ten Ruspols geckos, 10 tree geckos and 30 tree frogs.
No Japan trip for reptiles

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• KEN Press: No Japan trip for reptiles - W von Papineäu, Sat Aug 30 13:56:59 2008