Woman warned after smuggling live terrapins from China
18.05.11
Six terrapins that were being smuggled into Wales after a long-haul flight from China have been rescued, the BBC reports. UK Border staff at Cardiff Airport found the reptiles hidden in the baggage of a 54-year-old woman from Tonypandy, Rhondda. She was released after receiving a warning and the terrapins have been given to a local rescue charity.
There is a complete ban on bringing live animals into the UK without a permit. Four adult terrapins were hidden in the woman's hand luggage, with two more baby terrapins in her suitcase - all with no food or water. Ann Ovenstone, of the International Tortoise Association, said: ‘It is unbelievably cruel. They would have endured a long-haul flight from China to Amsterdam, then a wait and then a trip to Cardiff. The two in the hold will have been in freezing temperatures, when they used to temperatures of 15C, so they would have been partly-frozen and they can only feed when they are in water, so they will have been starving.’
She said it was ‘absurd’ the woman had gone to such trouble to smuggle the animals in as they can be bought in pet shops in the UK for about £10, adding: 'Apparently she paid £300 for them as a gift to her niece.’ She said it was too early to tell if the terrapins would survive their ordeal.
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