Animal importation case adjourned for legal talks

Jimel McLean and sugar glider

(CNS): Jimel McLean and Sabrina Walton, who were charged earlier this month for importing a live animal without a licence, appeared in court Thursday but the case was adjourned to allow the lawyers to discuss the details of the charges. They were both bailed to return to court in January without answering the charges against them. McLean and Walton were arrested after an incident aboard a Cayman Airways aircraft in June, when a sugar-glider, a small furry possum, they were attempting to bring into Cayman escaped from its hiding place in their clothing and caused a stir aboard the plane.

The case has attracted considerable public attention and is one of the first cases of its kind to reach the courts, but it took prosecutors some five months to file the charges. The issue has fuelled concerns because of the dangers to the local environment associated with the importation of invasive species. McLean is the son of MLA Arden McLean, the independent opposition member for East End.

McLean and Walton are both charged with two counts of importing a live animal without a licence, and McLean is also charged with importing a biological product without a licence. They were both bailed to appear in court again on 11 January.