Two tourists were sent to prison in New Zealand for hunting and possessing protected native lizards in a case the judge said was akin to ivory smuggling.

Thomas Benjamin Price, a stockbroker from Gallen, Switzerland, and Gustavo Eduardo Toledo-Albarran, a chef from Carranza, Mexico, will spend 18 weeks in prison.

District Court Judge Raoul Neave sentenced the pair to six months in jail but took eight weeks off the terms because they pleaded guilty to charges under New Zealand's Wildlife Act.

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Neave said wildlife was endangered around the world and the men's actions were no different from the crimes of ivory hunters.

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