Pet shop manager caught stealing zoo animals, including a penguin
NAGASAKI —
A sticky-fingered pet shop manager who has been arrested for stealing a Humboldt Penguin from Nagasaki Bio Park was slapped with additional charges from police on Monday after it was discovered that he also stole a squirrel monkey and a capybara.
Police say that Akira Honda, manager of a pet shop in Fukuoka City, told them he was in debt and that he had planned to sell the animals.
Honda is suspected of stealing a capybara (worth 150,000 yen) from Fukuoka’s Uninonakamichi Seaside Park on Nov 1 last year and a squirrel monkey (also worth 150,000 yen) from Nagasaki Bio Park on Jan 18.
According to police, after stealing the capybara, he kept it until December, when it died. The squirrel monkey was sold to someone in Yokohama.
News reports
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31 Comments
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Disillusioned
What can you say to an article like this? Loser!
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thepro
Scumbag. A lot of the pet shops I've seen in this country are so dodgy, with animals that should never be kept in small cages or tanks.
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Gurukun
Hmmmmm. How do you steal an animal from a zoo?
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USNinJapan2
Gurukun
Both of these parks have large open areas where these animals roam freely and you can walk amongst them, feed them, pet them, etc.
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3RENSHO
"How do you steal an animal from a zoo?"
He put the Humboldt Penguin in a suitcase, and attempted to walk out of the zoo. A sharp-eyed security guard thought he appeared suspicious and questioned him.
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Debucho
Where were the sharp eyes when this guy stole a frickin money from the zoo!!!??? Maybe he dressed it in Hello Kitty stuff and called it his daughter...
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meloveulongtime
stealing a penguin? What a waste of skin this guy is!!!!
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KyokoSmile
agree with thepro on this, what a scumbag!
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Gurukun
&USNinJapan2-Thanks for the carification. But still, it seems odd that you can just walk out with a penguin. Maybe he did use a suitcase. LOL
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ratpack
Debucho at 09:17 AM JST - 9th March
A sharp-eyed security guard thought he appeared suspicious and questioned him.
Where were the sharp eyes when this guy stole a frickin money from the zoo!!!??? Maybe he dressed it in Hello Kitty stuff and called it his daughter...
ROFLMYO
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ratpack
I meant to say ROFLMAO
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gogogo
He stole a capybara! hhahah that thing is massive! I think he should be charged for animal cruelty as well for allowing it to die. I don't think they even have that law in Japan
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KyokoSmile
gogogo my friend, actually they DON'T. Animal Cruelty is unheard of in this country..welcome to the Stone Age-japan!
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timorborder
Saw this one on the morning news and laughed heartily. If the guy had the penguin in a suitcase, how did he smuggle out the Capybara? Did he shove it down his pants?
Seriously, this story again highlights the sordid underbelly of the "pet" trade in this country. Specifically, this dealing in exotic species is a national disgrace. Hardly a month goes by where a Japanese national is not caught at some overseas airport trying to smuggle out wildlife for resale in Japan. Recent examples that come to mind are Australian reptiles (including species covered by the Washington Treaty) and South-East Asian birds (again, including species covered by international laws to which Japan is a signatory. Moreover, the people who buy these "pets" are no better. This country is infested with exotic animals that have been dumped by owners who got bored with their purchases. Such actions impact what little is left of the local environment (that not destroyed by developers in this country) and it also poses grave risks for the human population as well. For example, North American raccoons are not native to Japan, however, there is a sizable wild population of these creatures. Unfortunately, however, raccoons are also a host for rabies.
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Debucho
He put it on his head, stripped naked and said he was going to a local "Fur Matsuri"
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kokorocloud
what the-- how do you STEAL A PENGUIN?? I laughed at this but this guy deserves whatever punishment he gets. I can't imagine what kind of horrible life that poor penguin (and those other animals he stole!) would have after being sold to someone who couldn't provide them with the environment they actually NEED.
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Grifter88
For a country with technologies like Japan, I believe someone got away with those animals from the zoo..
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goddog
Cops slapped him with another charge. They should just slap him across the cheeks. I cannot believe the cost of the squirrel monkey. I had one for 4 years in the late 60's to early 70's. Cost me $25
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bokudayo
Didn't this guy know that penguins can escape from the zoo on their own? (Madagascar...)
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Greapper1
If you're gonna steal an animal to keep as a pet you should at least know how to take care of it beforehand. ROFL
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dolphingirl
Poor little capybara (well, honestly, I had to look up what a capybara was) but really man, stealing animals is despicably low. I hope the monkey and penguin are okay.
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dammit
Timorborder;
Japanese? I see reports of people from all over the world trying to smuggle animals into their home country. Why point the finger at Japanese? Yes, I know this article is about Japan, but it doesn't even involve smuggling at all so why point fingers like this?
Poor Capybara. I had to look it up as well, although I recognised it when I saw the pictures. What an incompetent to not be able to keep it alive. Perhaps he was an opportunist thief and just took what looked easier to steal? But surely he could have found out enough online to keep it healthy? Irresponsible idiot, I hope he gets a good long sentence for this! (It's a shame he didn't try stealing a lion or tiger, they could have given him an instant death penalty before he got them in the suitcase and it would have saved the zoo some feed fees.)
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yaponistcom
I bet, he was planning to get a ransom from penguin relatives...
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bicultural
Hilarious story. Maybe the "pet shop manager" should look for another job since he can't keep animals alive for long.
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AzabuSamurai
what kind of an idiot would want a pet penguin anyway?
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GW
Too many "pet shops" here are just houses of cruelty & stupidity, about 10yrs ago I walked into a shop that had a huge sloth hanging in a makeshift cage with something to hang from, as I cringed & looked away there was a beaver in an aquarium..........
I know other countries are also offenders but Jpn is a top destination for exotic animals most of which just die a horrible death
Jpn another stike against you!
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norinrad21
Hahahaha Japan
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alargo
Don't you guys get it? He must have had a "friend" on the inside to pull off this job. That is the way things are done in this country.
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usaexpat
Damn he stole the penguin for me, now I'll never get my penguin. I had my heart set on turning my house into a live action version of "Happy Feet"
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Fadamor
He probably starved the capybara to death. An adult capybara eats 6-8 pounds of grasses a day (Wikipedia). If this guy had financial troubles, I don't see how he would be able to stock up on a lot of grasses.
I have to repeat the question posted earlier... How the heck do you sneak a capybara out of a zoo?
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