TOKYO (TR) — Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an Ibaraki Prefecture pet shop owner and his store manager for allegedly poaching rare and endangered reptiles from Okinawa Prefecture, reports TBS News (May 14).
Toshihiro Komuro, 49, who operates a pet shop in Tsuchiura City, and 37-year-old store manager Ayano Otake are accused of traveling to Okinawa two years ago to illegally capture four Ryukyu leaf turtles and two Kuroiwa’s ground geckos. The pair then allegedly packed the reptiles and mailed them directly to their shop in Ibaraki.
The Ryukyu leaf turtle is designated as a national natural monument, while the gecko is protected as a natural monument by Okinawa Prefecture.
During police questioning, Komuro admitted to the allegations. “I sold them to a Chinese person,” he reportedly told investigators. Otake has denied the charges.
Poaching has become a severe issue in Okinawa’s biodiverse Yanbaru region. Yoshihiro Takahashi, an official with the Environment Ministry’s Yanbaru Nature Conservation Office, warned of the consequences of the illicit trade. “Whether it is on a large or small scale, poaching can have a severely negative impact on the continued survival of these species,” he said.
Police are stepping up their crackdown on wildlife smuggling, noting that the lucrative black market is being driven by a surging demand for rare Japanese creatures among overseas exotic pet collectors.
