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The investigations began last week when the department's regulatory section received reports of Kowloon Tong homes being approached for the sale of aged terrapins. Price tags of $8,000 to $12,000 per turtle was said to be fetched,
An AFD veterinary officer, Dr Howard Wong, said although temple terrapins are not endangered animals, they are on the IUCN Red Data Book and being closely monitored on their numbers.
Dr Wong pointed out that there is no suitable habitat in Hong Kong for these freshwater turtles.
He added that keeping these animals in an unsuitable environment may constitute a breach of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance.
Dr Wong took the opportunity to remind the public not to buy these terrapins for release into the wild or the sea as the act could breach a number of legislation. In addition, the release of these turtles into the wild would almost certainly result in their death.
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New measure for recruiting Government temporary staff
The Labour Department today (Tuesday) announced that starting from May 1 (Thursday), a pilot test of drawing lots will be introduced in shortlisting applicants for job interviews in the recruitment of Government temporary junior clerical posts.
"An enormous number of students approach the offices of the Local Employment Services (LES) for these posts such as temporary clerical assistants, temporary typists and temporary computer operators during every summer.
"To scramble for the limited vacancies, some of them even queue up early in the morning at the entrances to the LES offices. This has adversely affected the services rendered to other normal job seekers," a spokesman for the Labour Department said.
To tackle the problem, the Labour Department will adopt a drawing lots system in handling the recruitment of these posts from May 1 to July 31. A total of six draws will be held during this period.
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