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10 Things You Didn't Know About Wildlife Trafficking

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• published: 05 Jan 2017
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From the resurgence of exotic Chinese Traditional Medicine, to the sad reality of Amphibian Trafficking, these are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Wildlife Trafficking ! Subscribe to American Eye http://goo.gl/GBphkv 5. Amphibian Trafficking Many of us enjoy the uniqueness of having a different pet. Frogs make good choices because they’re fairly simple to take care of and can even look like princess leia when it has snails on its head! Each year, thousands of amphibians like exotic frogs, and toads are pulled from their natural environment which are then sold as exotic pets, most often in foreign countries. These are normally sold from private dealers when are then sold to some pet stores or to the individual who wants an exotic pet. Getting them across borders doesn’t always prove to be easy and some are smuggled on planes. Here in this photo, you see a film canister containing tiny, poison arrow frogs, that were seized by customs in Belgium. Of course, customs strictly forbid. These were originally from Panama and would have sold for 150 euros each. Of course, many pet stores get their exotic pets from legitimate breeders but you should consider asking an employee at a pet store where they get their supply of reptiles and frogs from. 4. The Lizard King In some tropical places where reptiles are plentiful, people like the Anson Wong, aka the Lizard King, can become the Pablo Escobars of reptiles smuggling. This man ran an organized criminal enterprise of selling most specifically endangered reptiles like the boa constrictors, chinese alligators, and komodo dragons to places all around the world. This Malaysian citizen was deemed responsible for the biggest operation of animal smuggling. He was the man behind a large scale heist of 75 animals, worth rough 750,000 dollars at a breeding sanctuary in Madagascar. He was eventually arrested at an airport when he was caught with his briefcase crawling with snakes! 3. Shipments to 214 Countries In case you really just thought this was a problem affecting a few parts of the globe, you need to open your eyes. China should not be solely to blame as many people might think.This affects virtually every part of the globe when it comes to exporting and importing. The US is certainly one of them. There are more shipments of wildlife trafficking enter the US via San Francisco, California than anywhere else. Asia was the most common exporter shipping 37.5 percent of the ships, but surprisingly, north america represented 28.7 percent of exports. Ivory is most commonly exported from Gabon and rhino horn from South Africa. The Canadian illegal wildlife trade is certainly booming with trophy animals like moose, bears, elk which are mounted and sold for thousands of dollars each. Black bear paws are another delicacy in Asia that have supposed aphrodisiac like qualities and well as bear bile which comes from their liver. Bear paw soup like you see here is slowly cooked with duck wings. No country with a thriving wildlife is immune to the temptation of quick money on the Wildlife trafficking market. 2. Rhino Horn While rhino or elephant horn might not be the most common commodity sold on the wildlife black market, it certainly seems to be the most rare and most expensive. And it’s not simply poor people who are trying to get by and resort to poaching anymore. In modern times ran by well organized militarized gangs taking control of this illegal, yet lucrative business. A typical rhino horn can sell for an astonishing 300,000 dollars once it finds a potential buyer. It’s almost hard to blame the poacher when prices are that high, it’s truly the demand for it which is outrageous. In 2011, thieves raided museums in Europe, not stealing precious coins or artwork, but Rhinoceros mounted heads, more specifically their horns. The demand actually doesn’t come from China this time, but in Vietnam where the appetite for Rhino horn has gone through the roof at about 100,000 dollars a kilo. Some claim it has the magical ability to cure cancer but it reality, it has no more nutritional value than eating someone’s toenails. 1.The Most Common Commodities While rhino horns and tusks certainly pick up the big bucks for illegal wildlife trafficking, the dwindling numbers of these animals make it tough to sell in large quantities. It might come to a surprise, but in fact pythons appear to be the most commonly smuggled live animal that sold as pets. Exotic fish, birds and turtles also rank high on the list. Illegal meat is another common commodity especially shark fins, and also Pangolins. You’ve probably never heard of this mammal before but it actually has scales, is extremely rare and are used for traditional medicine. The scales are boiled off their bodies and their blood is seen as some kind of magical healing potion. Many claim this to be the most hunted and animal. And something needs to be done quick before it’s completely wiped off the face of the planet.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Wildlife Trafficking

• Report rights infringement
• published: 05 Jan 2017
• views: 2750

From the resurgence of exotic Chinese Traditional Medicine, to the sad reality of Amphibian Trafficking, these are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Wildlife Trafficking ! Subscribe to American Eye http://goo.gl/GBphkv 5. Amphibian Trafficking Many of us enjoy the uniqueness of having a different pet. Frogs make good choices because they’re fairly simple to take care of and can even look like princess leia when it has snails on its head! Each year, thousands of amphibians like exotic frogs, and toads are pulled from their natural environment which are then sold as exotic pets, most often in foreign countries. These are normally sold from private dealers when are then sold to some pet stores or to the individual who wants an exotic pet. Getting them across borders doesn’t always prove to be easy and some are smuggled on planes. Here in this photo, you see a film canister containing tiny, poison arrow frogs, that were seized by customs in Belgium. Of course, customs strictly forbid. These were originally from Panama and would have sold for 150 euros each. Of course, many pet stores get their exotic pets from legitimate breeders but you should consider asking an employee at a pet store where they get their supply of reptiles and frogs from. 4. The Lizard King In some tropical places where reptiles are plentiful, people like the Anson Wong, aka the Lizard King, can become the Pablo Escobars of reptiles smuggling. This man ran an organized criminal enterprise of selling most specifically endangered reptiles like the boa constrictors, chinese alligators, and komodo dragons to places all around the world. This Malaysian citizen was deemed responsible for the biggest operation of animal smuggling. He was the man behind a large scale heist of 75 animals, worth rough 750,000 dollars at a breeding sanctuary in Madagascar. He was eventually arrested at an airport when he was caught with his briefcase crawling with snakes! 3. Shipments to 214 Countries In case you really just thought this was a problem affecting a few parts of the globe, you need to open your eyes. China should not be solely to blame as many people might think.This affects virtually every part of the globe when it comes to exporting and importing. The US is certainly one of them. There are more shipments of wildlife trafficking enter the US via San Francisco, California than anywhere else. Asia was the most common exporter shipping 37.5 percent of the ships, but surprisingly, north america represented 28.7 percent of exports. Ivory is most commonly exported from Gabon and rhino horn from South Africa. The Canadian illegal wildlife trade is certainly booming with trophy animals like moose, bears, elk which are mounted and sold for thousands of dollars each. Black bear paws are another delicacy in Asia that have supposed aphrodisiac like qualities and well as bear bile which comes from their liver. Bear paw soup like you see here is slowly cooked with duck wings. No country with a thriving wildlife is immune to the temptation of quick money on the Wildlife trafficking market. 2. Rhino Horn While rhino or elephant horn might not be the most common commodity sold on the wildlife black market, it certainly seems to be the most rare and most expensive. And it’s not simply poor people who are trying to get by and resort to poaching anymore. In modern times ran by well organized militarized gangs taking control of this illegal, yet lucrative business. A typical rhino horn can sell for an astonishing 300,000 dollars once it finds a potential buyer. It’s almost hard to blame the poacher when prices are that high, it’s truly the demand for it which is outrageous. In 2011, thieves raided museums in Europe, not stealing precious coins or artwork, but Rhinoceros mounted heads, more specifically their horns. The demand actually doesn’t come from China this time, but in Vietnam where the appetite for Rhino horn has gone through the roof at about 100,000 dollars a kilo. Some claim it has the magical ability to cure cancer but it reality, it has no more nutritional value than eating someone’s toenails. 1.The Most Common Commodities While rhino horns and tusks certainly pick up the big bucks for illegal wildlife trafficking, the dwindling numbers of these animals make it tough to sell in large quantities. It might come to a surprise, but in fact pythons appear to be the most commonly smuggled live animal that sold as pets. Exotic fish, birds and turtles also rank high on the list. Illegal meat is another common commodity especially shark fins, and also Pangolins. You’ve probably never heard of this mammal before but it actually has scales, is extremely rare and are used for traditional medicine. The scales are boiled off their bodies and their blood is seen as some kind of magical healing potion. Many claim this to be the most hunted and animal. And something needs to be done quick before it’s completely wiped off the face of the planet.