YOMIURI SHIMBUN (Tokyo, Japan) 07 March 06 Papers sent on man over salamander
The Kanagawa prefectural police sent papers to prosecutors Monday on a 41-year-old man who allegedly raised a giant salamander without proper authorization, a police source said.
The company executive, of Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki, is suspected of violating the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Japanese giant salamanders are designated as special national treasures and may not be raised without the proper authorization from the director general of the Cultural Affairs Agency. The man allegedly reared the giant salamander at his office in Takatsu Ward in the city between December 2001 and October 2005.
The 60-centimeter-long amphibian was found wandering around in the ward in October. The executive came forward to claim ownership of the creature and took it away.
The executive had said the salamander was imported from China, but DNA analysis at Kyoto University's Graduate School in November determined the creature was a Japanese giant salamander, the police said.
The suspect told investigators, "I got it for free from a man I knew through work."
The amphibian is now in an aquarium in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
It is illegal to possess giant salamanders, even Chinese ones. However, the statute of limitations on the handling of giant salamanders had expired by the time the amphibian in question was discovered.
Papers sent on man over salamander