EXOTIC CONSUMERISM: ILLEGAL TRADE IN LIVE ANIMALS
thereafter with a seizure of 17 tonnes of live sea cucumbers at the Cancun International Airport, the largest confiscation ever of that species.
Sea cucumber numbers have plummeted across Latin America, with the fisheries depleted on Ecuador’s mainland coast and in the Galapagos Islands, and highly impacted in Mexico.
Back in Egypt, meanwhile, pet shop owners alternate between the internet and walk-up business to deliver the goods. Many stores promise same-day delivery from vast wildlife holding centers along the Cairo-Alexandria Road, while one Facebook advert guarantees a lion cub delivery within 25 days.
These sellers, however, are decidedly upscale compared to some of the wild animal markets that exist in Africa and Asia. Sprawling, semi-permanent open-air markets thrive in a number of major cities, such as the Benfica market in Angola, the Juba market in Nigeria, or the Taipint market in China, all of which offer wildlife for sale that violates CITES regulations
Video: Trafficked through Thailand: Cracking down on animal smuggling
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
on a daily basis. While the wildlife on offer in these sites is predominantly destined for human consumption, much of it is sold alive and none of it is regulated. The disease risks are clear, and the legal implications are equally troubling.
In fact, a 2014 study of seven live wildlife trade markets in China’s Guangdong and Guangxi provinces uncovered 13 endangered or critically species for sale, along with Indochinese box turtles and Burmese pythons, indicating that trans-border trade was occurring in species without proper documentation.
© The New York Times
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzgTAbp-Fyo Photo Credit: GRASP
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But even documents can be procured, if necessary. The 2015 arrest of the former wildlife director of Guinea, Ansoumane Doumbouya, pulled back the curtain on a West African empire of live illegal wildlife trade that spanned nearly a decade and resulted in the illegal export of hundreds of animals. Doumbouya, who also served as the head of Guinea’s CITES authority beginning in 2008, issued fraudulent permits for chimpanzees, gorillas, manatees, bonobos, parrots and other endangered wildlife on a regular basis that fueled a complex web of illegal traders and ultimately led to Guinea’s
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