A crocodile and 6 chameleons sent to the zoo from Tashkent airport died

Earlier, on 30 August this year, it was reported that the customs officers of Uzbekistan uncovered attempts to illegally import 57 baby crocodiles and 10 chameleons at the Tashkent International Airport.  Until the situation is clarified, these wild animals were handed over to the Tashkent Zoo for temporary storage.

According to the State Customs Committee, 1 baby crocodile and 6 chameleons kept in the zoo have died.

It should be noted that because they were removed from the wild, not all baby crocodiles are equally adapted to domestic conditions.  Some of them cannot feed themselves.

Also, the condition of the chameleons still being kept in special quarantine is not good.  Since they were brought in a box amongst fruit, they were crushed by the fruit during the flight and were seriously injured.

For information, since Nile crocodiles and Yemenite chameleons are not found in the fauna of Uzbekistan, they are not included in the country's Red Book.  However, they are included in the International Red Book.

For this reason, following the convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a CITES special permit is required to import these creatures into the republic. However, according to the information received from the State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan, no application for such a permit has been received.

The further fate of the animals will be decided according to the court verdict.

In connection with the situation, a criminal case was initiated by the customs authorities under several articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.