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Posted by W von Papineäu on March 23, 2003 at 22:31:04:
In Reply to: NZ Press: Officials seek jail for chameleon smuggler posted by W von Papineäu on March 23, 2003 at 18:47:08:
ONE NEWS (New Zealand) 24 March 03 Man fined for illegal chameleons
A foreign national has been fined $20,000 in Wellington District Court for bringing seven baby chameleons into the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry brought charges under biosecurity, trade in endangered species and hazardous substances laws, and he was convicted on all three.
The man gave the chameleons, which he bred, to two lizard collectors as thanks for their hospitality while he was on holiday in New Zealand.
The defence said a conviction on the trading charge has the potential to destroy the man's career, but the judge told him the law defines trade as importing or exporting regardless of any profit motive.
