By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-05 12:07:02 | Updated at 2026-08-05 23:33:55
11 hours ago
HONG KONG – The owner of a Hong Kong reptile education centre, who is co-hosting a major wildlife expo for children, has been charged with the illegal possession of endangered species, local authorities said on Aug 5.
Alvin Wong Ho-hin, owner of Nature Herpetology Education, was scheduled to appear at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Aug 4 but failed to show.
A representative from Nature Herpetology told Reuters that Wong was absent from court due to Type A influenza, but the representative did not respond to further requests for comment.
The case dates back to 2022, when the city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) officers seized several live endangered animals from an exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The seized animals included a green iguana, a Spencer’s monitor (a protected Australian lizard species), a golden coin turtle, and a taxidermied African grey parrot. Spencer’s monitors are banned from commercial trade in Hong Kong.
AFCD told Reuters that a 29-year-old local man was charged in August under suspicion of illegally possessing a live Spencer’s monitor and a taxidermied African grey parrot.
Wong’s company, which conducts school outreach and exotic animal education programmes, is co-hosting the Exotic Pets World expo at Hopewell Mall in Wan Chai from July 25 to Aug 18.
Wong previously worked at the local animal charity HK Herp, which aims to prevent cruelty to reptiles and amphibians. He resigned on Jan 24, 2018, after the organisation announced on Facebook that a batch of animals, including some endangered species, had been stolen from its centre. REUTERS
