# Sri Lanka wildlife officials arrest Australian



## News Bot (Feb 27, 2012)

SIX foreign nationals including an Australian have been arrested in Sri Lanka on charges of illegally holding amphibians and reptiles. 











*Published On:* 27-Feb-12 12:36 AM
*Source:* From correspondents in Colombo via NEWS.com.au

*Go to Original Article*


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## miss_mosher (Feb 27, 2012)

Lead by Exo-Terra? Wowzas.


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## jedi_339 (Feb 27, 2012)

miss_mosher said:


> Lead by Exo-Terra? Wowzas.



Haha beat me to it miss_mosher

that's a great company image.............

1. Take people on tour

2. People steal animals from the wild

3. ????????

4. Profit


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## longqi (Feb 27, 2012)

Same thing slowly happening all over Asia

Ecological concerns and thus arrests are becoming a lot more common now

Really good to see


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## Jonno from ERD (Feb 27, 2012)

Don't jump to conclusions guys - chances are the stuff was retained for photography reasons. If it is who I think it is, the last thing he would support would be the illegal trade in wildlife.


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## miss_mosher (Feb 27, 2012)

I wouldn't assume it, it is media after all, and look at the country they're in, they love inviting people over for jail time. But it does sound REAL bad for business hey?


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## longqi (Feb 27, 2012)

Jonno from ERD said:


> Don't jump to conclusions guys - chances are the stuff was retained for photography reasons. If it is who I think it is, the last thing he would support would be the illegal trade in wildlife.



only two points against that
what happened to take only photos leave only footprints
these were not free animals
secondly they were preparing to leave sri lanka

maybe its all a beat up but doesnt look good at first impressions


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## Jonno from ERD (Feb 27, 2012)

It wouldn't make a good news article if everything was above board. Nearly all professional herp photographers take posed photographs, and doing so in the field without holding on to animals is very difficult sometimes.


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## longqi (Feb 27, 2012)

Forgive me if my memory is doing but Sinharaja is a small area in the South East of Sri Lanka
World Heritage listed but only 20,000 acres or so
They were arrested in the far North of Sri Lanka???

Really doesnt look good


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## MJAussie360 (Feb 27, 2012)

Wow, this is fairly messed up.


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## longqi (Feb 27, 2012)

Regardless of what happened its not Exo terras fault

They would have zero knowledge about it

The good thing is that Asia is starting to protect its wildlife


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## Monika_Cross (Feb 27, 2012)

Not enough info in the story.


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## -Peter (Feb 27, 2012)

Roland Zobel (Germany), Edgar Wefer (Venezuela), Benny Trap (Germany), Guy Van 
Heygen (Belgium) and myself (Emmanuel Van Heygen) are now waiting for our 
flight. In Mumbai the other team members, Loren Leigh (USA) and Damian Goodall 
(Australia)will join us. We will keep you posted!

Exo Terra blog, last entry is on the 10th.


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## evanheygen (Mar 3, 2012)

Mr. longqi,

It is very flattering with the snake on your head, and I do not even want to start thinking about how posing like this would get you in trouble in Sri Lanka!

You seem to very sure that the wild life officials in Sri Lanka did the right thing? I was there and I can guarantee you they did NOT! We never had any wildlife in our possession, in fact we were blogging from day one our whereabouts. If we had the intention to poach - smuggle wildlife, why would we keep a blog revealing every step in Sri Lanka?
DO NOT jump into conclusions to fast, please. We are a group of wildlife photographers that wanted to show the world the unique reptile fauna of Sri Lanka!

Believe me, i do not need to smuggle wildlife to make a living...

Regards,

Emmanuel Van Heygen

Exo Terra Manager


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## evanheygen (Mar 3, 2012)

Hi again,

You can follow the story here: Sri Lanka

Cheers,

Emmanuel


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## eipper (Mar 3, 2012)

Hi all,


I spoke to Damien this morning all is well and he is back in Australia. The whole exercise was a major media beat up. Further info is on the exoterra website.


Cheers Scott


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## longqi (Mar 14, 2012)

Mr. longqi, It is very flattering with the snake on your head, and I do not even want to start thinking about how posing like this would get you in trouble in Sri Lanka! You seem to very sure that the wild life officials in Sri Lanka did the right thing? I was there and I can guarantee you they did NOT! We never had any wildlife in our possession, in fact we were blogging from day one our whereabouts. If we had the intention to poach - smuggle wildlife, why would we keep a blog revealing every step in Sri Lanka? DO NOT jump into conclusions to fast, please. We are a group of wildlife photographers that wanted to show the world the unique reptile fauna of Sri Lanka! Believe me, i do not need to smuggle wildlife to make a living... Regards, Emmanuel Van Heygen Exo Terra Manager [unquote] ,,,, Hi Emmanuel I actually said that Exo terra was not at any fault and my comment was directed at the huge improvement in the last few years regarding animal protection in Asia as a whole Not simply over this incident But why were convictions recorded if no animals were in the possession of the photographers Sri Lanka fines 6 foreigners over exotic animals At a guess it was not having having animals in their possession at the point of departure but was for 'posing' animals for a photo shoot while still in Sinharaja? As I live in Asia I completely understand that some police officers bend things to their benefit on occasion Peter


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