Before he heads off to work, Masakazu Utsunomiya has a unique daily ritual of tender loving care -- he bathes and feeds the rare Burmese starred tortoises he keeps in his modest Tokyo apartment and ensures their tanks' temperature is just right.
Utsunomiya, 29, imports 50 of the tortoises, known as Geochelone Platynota, four times a year from Myanmar to sell as pets. The Japanese representative of a Yangon junta-run breeding project, he legally sells the reptiles and hopes through his efforts to take a bite out of smuggling in what could be considered a lucrative trade, but not one all tortoises survive.
From an animal welfare standpoint, dealing with tortoises can be difficult. But importers, many of them tortoise lovers themselves, say that as long as there is demand and imports, the reptiles should at the very least be treated properly.