KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department raided two premises and confiscated nine protected exotic birds and a long-tailed macaque kept illegally as pets on Tuesday morning.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew announced this at the sidelines of the state assembly sitting here.
Both owners at the different premises, a 63-year-old man and a 48-year-old man, failed to show legal ownership, she told reporters at a press conference.
"The department received a report on Monday of the illegal ownerships. The enforcement ream raided the said locations yesterday where in the first premise at Kepayan, a white-browed shama, a magpie robin and seven blue-crowned hanging parrots were found kept in several cages.
"All the birds are listed under Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
"Keeping the birds without a permit is an offence under section 41(2) of the Enactment which upon conviction, is liable to a fine of not less than RM30,000 and not more than RM100,000 or imprisonment of not less than six months, but not exceeding five years, or both," she said.
In the second premise at Kampung Kibabaig, a long-tailed macaque was kept in a cage.
"Keeping the monkey without legal permit also carries the same penalty because the species is also listed under Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Enactment," she added.
She thanked the public for providing information and urged those who know of wildlife-related wrongdoings to report them to the Department.