The case marks the first “successful conviction” of wildlife traffickers from Palawan province, from where the traders took the animals, according to conservationists. Law enforcers chanced upon them in a routine checkpoint in Tagaytay City, Cavite province, on June 28. “The penalty given is just a slap on the wrist,” said Emerson Sy, president of the Philippine Center for Terrestrial and Aquatic Research (PCTAR), a private conservation group. Guilty“Wildlife crime is still not considered a serious crime in the country and the light penalty given to these wildlife criminals is a clear testament,” he added. Of these, only the most recent case in Tagaytay had recorded an arrest and resulted in court conviction.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 22, 2019 21:33 UTC