You can buy your own slow loris on the Hong Kong black market for HKD13,000

People are selling slow lorises on Facebook to Hongkongers who like their pets exotic and illegal, but who don’t quite have the apartment space for a tiger.

Slow lorises are small primates native in Southeast Asia. All slow loris species are listed as either “critically endangered” or “vulnerable” to becoming endangered, primarily thanks to habitat loss and, yup, wildlife trade. 

Apple Daily went deep undercover and posed as potential buyers to meet with one seller in a Tsuen Wan park late at night.

The seller was highly suspicious, requiring a HKD500 deposit just to see the animals, and made sure the coast was clear before revealing a two-month old slow loris.  

She was selling it for HKD13,000, or a bumper bargain of two for HKD25,000.

The seller claimed the animals were bred from a pair that was smuggled from Thailand, and that they were therefore safe, domesticated, and not traumatically torn from the wild where they belong like their parents.

Another online buyer that Apple Daily contacted was selling the primates for HKD11,000 and urged them to act quick before they were all snapped up, implying that they were popular.

The animals are protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endagered Species (CITES), and thus commercial trade is prohibited in Hong Kong, unless they are captively bred by a CITES-licensed breeder, according to the SPCA.

Slow lorises have gone from relative obscurity to internet fame in recent years thanks to their massive, weird-in-a-cute-way eyes and gentle disposition.

For example this video, of a slow loris eating a rice ball, has almost 9 million views on YouTube.

According to Wikipedia, “slow lorises move slowly and deliberately, making little or no noise, and when threatened, they stop moving and remain motionless”.

Sounds cute, right? Yeah, except they have a toxic bite, with the toxin also being found it in its fur.

The AFCD expressed concern about the Apple Daily findings and said it will follow up.

They warn that if you don’t get accidentally poisoned by your pet’s toxins, or get sick from the diseases it might be carrying (like rabies or TB), you might get arrested for having an illegal pet – none of which sound very fun at all. 

Photo: Jon via Flickr

 

 


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