Lizard King's Sentencing Lacks Venom

In late August, a suitcase busted open on a luggage conveyor belt at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport, revealing 95 endangered boa constrictors, a couple of rhinoceros vipers and a mata-mata turtle. The bag belonged to Anson Wong, aptly nicknamed the Lizard King, a wildlife trafficker on the Most Wanted list of pretty much every wildlife department and anti-smuggling group in the world.

Wong has an anaconda-sized rap sheet for prior smuggling busts, including one that landed him in U.S. federal prison for 71 months nearly a decade ago. Ninety-five endangered snakes could yield fines of up to $32,000 per animal and as many as 7 years in prison. So what was this flagrant repeat offender sentenced to? A whopping six months in prison and $60,000 total fine.

That's a little more than the black market price one could fetch for a tiger (of which Wong had two) or about the average value on the internet for 90 boa constrictors (or just under a suitcase-full). Doesn't put much of a squeeze on someone like Wong. Way to take a stand against wildlife trafficking and make an example out of him, Malaysia.

The Star, Malaysia's most widely-read English daily newspaper, wrote: "We had a chance to severely punish a notorious wildlife trader and send a signal that we mean business in repairing our unwelcome reputation as an international hub for this illegal trade. But we blew it."

A full month after Wong was slapped on the wrist by the courts, the wildlife department did follow up and revoked all wildlife trading permits and licenses that had been issued to both him and his wife. Wong's animals will all be seized, including the two Bengal tigers and a crocodile. Jamalun Nasir, director of the state wildlife department, said that as many of the animals as possible will be prepared for release into the wild, but the endangered animals, like the tigers, will likely remain in a zoo.

Many countries, like Malaysia, are getting better at enforcing wildlife trafficking laws, but then it's up to the courts to give those laws teeth. And those teeth need to be sharp enough to put a snag in the $10-20 billion global trade, which puts wildlife trafficking just behind drugs and weapons as the most lucrative career for smugglers.

What can we do from the other side of the world to stop this destructive, cruel trade? Support efforts like TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network run by a coalition of international conservation groups, and support legislation like the Global Conservation Act, which will help combat wildlife crimes and keep pressure on other countries to take conservation seriously.

Because wherever the Lizard King slithers to next, the international community needs to be ready for him.

Photo credit: wwarby