Stop Profiting From Endangered Animal Products

Victory! Illegal Wildlife Market Responsible for Selling Millions of Animals Reduced to Rubble.

The illegal wildlife trade, including the poaching of animals for bush meat and the pet trade, is one of the major risks to species living in the Amazon region of Peru. And, until a fortnight ago, the epicenter of that illegal trade was found in a town called Pucallpa. The Bellavista market in the town was used openly by wildlife traffickers to sell both dead and live animals in huge numbers. Conservationists working in the area estimate that millions of individual animals, from birds, to reptiles to endangered mammals, will have passed through the market in its twenty years of operation.

The scenes in the market were heart-breaking; young, emaciated monkeys tied up next to where the bodies of other monkeys – perhaps their relatives – were being sold as food. Birds tightly packed in filthy cages, unable to spread their wings or move. At the end of each market day, the carcasses of those animals – some of them highly endangered – who were not sold or who had simply perished from the terrible conditions, were simply thrown in the trash. Shockingly, the market was managed by the local authority in the area, who turned a blind eye to the problem; thus sending a clear message that wildlife trafficking could simply continue without consequence.

But the nightmare suffered by so many innocent animals came to an end two weeks ago, when the market which had been the site of so much suffering was not only closed, but demolished and reduced to rubble.

The move was thanks, in no small part, to the brave work of conservationists from the Peruvian-based NGO, Neotropical Primate Conservation. Following three years of the team monitoring the market, carrying out demonstrations and public awareness activities and repeatedly reporting the illegal activity, the authorities were forced to step in and take action.

Dr. Noga Shanee, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to close the market told One Green Planet, “It has been three years of fighting to see this awful place closed down, but we were determined. Just a few moments in that place and seeing the way in which the animals were suffering – and in such huge numbers – there was no way we were going to give up.”

More Work Ahead

The closure of the market is great news for Peruvian wildlife but, says Dr. Shanee, it is not the end of the illegal trade in the area. The central market was fed by a number of hidden warehouses which were likely used to stockpile animals brought straight from the forest. These warehouses are in secret locations and the team continues to work to ensure that they too are located and closed down. That the main market has been closed, however, will create serious obstacles for the traffickers and the importance of both the closure of the site itself and the fact that the local authority finally acted should not be underestimated.

Dr. Shanee added, “On the day that we found out that the market had been demolished, I went there and walked right over the top of the rubble – it was a fabulous feeling knowing that no more animals will suffer there.”

But there is no time for the team to rest as, no sooner had the dust settled on Bellavista market, NPC turned its sights onto another illegal market; this time in the Peruvian city, Iquitos.  Wildlife trafficking in Peru is a devastating and dangerous trade, but successes such as those won by the NPC team in recent weeks goes to show the impact that a small group of dedicated people can have when they refuse to give in. All image source: NPC

Punish Man for Allegedly Profiting From Endangered Animal Products.

Target: Chris Grayling, MP Secretary of State for Justice for the U.K.

Petition: Click Here To Help!

Goal: Punish man who allegedly illegally bought and traded endangered animals to make a profit.

A man in the United Kingdom has allegedly lied about being a taxidermist and admitted to buying and trading endangered animals to flip a profit on their skins. Aaron Halstead has reportedly been found to have illegally obtained three sperm whale teeth, the skull of dolphins and cheetahs as well as a snowy owl. Many of the animals that Halstead reportedly possesses are endangered.

According to reports, Halstead attempts to hide his crimes by describing himself as a taxidermist, yet his is not an official taxidermist and instead buys and sells endangered animal skins and keeps them in his home. This is not the first time Halstead has been accused of illegally profiting off of endangered animals. According to police, he received a warning for selling birds he had stuffed from an endangered species.

Demand the United Kingdom justice system rightfully punish this man for his alleged crimes. Animal endangerment is not to be messed with, and definitely not meant to be profited off of. Sign this petition and demand this man is prosecuted.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Grayling,

I am writing you today because I am extremely offended by the behavior of Aaron Halstead, a man allegedly profiting off of the skins of endangered animals. He has been accused these crimes before--in 2011, Halstead reportedly sold endangered birds illegally.

Halstead's home was recently searched by police and he was reportedly found to have illegally obtained three sperm whale teeth, the skull of dolphins and cheetahs and a snowy owl. Many of the species Halstead allegedly possesses are endangered and their existence is threatened by extinction.

Halstead has justified his possession of these illegal items by attempting to write himself off as an official taxidermist, yet his supposed "office" is reportedly his parents' basement and according to police, he is not in fact a taxidermist. With the threat of extinction surrounding this precious animals, we cannot let men like Halstead walk around boasting of his pride for wearing their skin. This behavior is wrong and despicable.

I urge you to not let Halstead get away with this behavior any longer. I ask that you push for the maximum punishment against him if he's found guilty to send a message to the public that endangered species are not to be profited from.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Aaron Halstead

Time to Crack Down on Wildlife Trafficking. The United States plays a major role in the illegal wildlife trade. Demand  for these animals and products are high here, and countless thousands of them come into our country every year. Thousands more travel through it, on their way to other destinations.

Defenders recently analyzed a decade of data on the illegal trade coming into the U.S. from Latin America. We found trade patterns, identified the top impacted species, looked at the products most often smuggled, and more. But perhaps the most urgent of all our findings was that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is alarmingly under-equipped to combat this illegal trade at and within our own borders. In addition to educating consumers and strengthening wildlife laws, we need to increase our law enforcement capacity to combat wildlife trafficking into and out of the country. Wanted: More Boots on the Ground FWS law enforcement officers are our front line of defense against wildlife trafficking. They inspect wildlife imports and exports and intercept illegal shipments at our ports of entry. In fiscal year 2014, the FWS only had the funding to hire 130 wildlife inspectors nationwide. This number begins to look startlingly low when you consider that there are 328 ports of entry throughout the country. Only 38 of those are staffed full time by wildlife inspectors. That means 89% of our ports of entry are in desperate need of staffing. With so many ports unattended, it is clear that the United States needs to increase the ranks of wildlife officers. Volume Overload Even at those ports that do have full time staff, the inspectors are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of trade. For example, staff at the Los Angeles port of entry consists of one supervisor, one detector dog, and eight to ten wildlife inspectors. Although Los Angeles is considered one port of entry, it actually includes multiple facilities: Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport, Palm Springs International Airport, Victorville Logistics Airports, several international courier and mail facilities and three sea ports. That team of inspectors did process an impressive 22,496 shipments in FY 2013. But Los Angeles International Airport alone processed 1.9 million tons of national and international air cargo, and the Port of Los Angeles processed 5.5 million international containers the same year. This means that despite the immense amount of work this team did, they were able to check just a fraction of one percent of all the shipments coming through Los Angeles. Without even accounting for the other facilities included at this port of entry, it becomes very clear that even when their full team is working, there is barely enough capacity to place a single wildlife inspector at each facility, let alone make headway in detecting the illegal and undeclared wildlife shipments concealed in any number of the millions of containers. Top U.S. Ports of Entry While illegal wildlife is inevitably smuggled in to the United States through any and all of the 328 ports of entry, our study uncovered the ports of entry most frequently used to import illegal wildlife from Latin America: El Paso, Miami and Houston. Together, these three ports were responsible for seizing 53.3% of all illegal wildlife shipments containing protected species imported from Latin America between 2004 and 2013. Combined, these ports of entry seized a total of at least 18,554 illegal products and 55,533 pounds of illegal wildlife. And these are just the shipments that were caught. At this level of trade, just imagine the volume of wildlife and products that could be coming through other ports across the country, undetected because there simply aren’t enough hands to do the job. As the effort to combat wildlife trafficking gears up around the world, we cannot forget the role the United States plays as a consumer and transit country. We are in a unique position. We can have a huge impact on the illegal trade in wildlife simply by reducing our own consumer demand and close our ports of entry to illegal imports and exports. But we cannot do this if the agency that we rely on most heavily to enforce these measures is underfunded and understaffed. The U.S. has made incredible strides in terms of policy-level mandates, but now it’s time to support the people who are on the ground carrying out these tasks.  4 Things You Didn’t Know About Wildlife Trafficking and the United States. Wildlife trafficking is a global concern. Wild animals from all over the world are captured or killed, then brought into this barbaric trade, the shipments sometimes traveling thousands of miles to reach a market where the demand for these animals, or what can be made from them, drives the whole process. The U.S. is a major hub for this trade. What enters this country, and from where, gives us a greater perspective on wildlife trafficking. We recently analyzed a decade of data, from 2005 to 2014, provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS). We looked at all wildlife imports from around the globe that were denied entry to the United States – whether they were seized by law enforcement, re-exported to where they came from, or abandoned by the sender. All this information is recorded for each shipment, but not often analyzed as a whole. So that’s exactly what we did, to get the biggest possible picture of what wildlife trafficking into the U.S. looks like. Illegal wildlife products come into the U.S. from 214 different countries. Wildlife trafficking occurs in, travels through, and is consumed in many countries. It is hard to overemphasize the fact that wildlife trafficking is a global crime that occurs in nearly every corner of the world. In our analysis, Defenders discovered wildlife imports entering the United States from 214 different countries and territories, representing every region of the world. While it may not surprise you that Asia was the most common exporting region with 37.5% of the shipments, North America was not far behind with 28.7% of the shipments. In fact, Mexico and Canada were ranked first and third in terms of the countries of export. Regardless of what’s in the shipments and where they originate, many of them are entering the United States from our neighbors to the north and south. Being on the lookout for shipments of ivory from Gabon, or rhino horn from South Africa is only part of the battle. We now know that we need to look for all these things much closer to home as well. More illegal shipments enter the U.S. via San Francisco, California than anywhere else. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitors wildlife imports and exports at 64 ports of entry around the country. In the decade of data Defenders analyzed, wildlife imports were denied at each and every one of those ports, indicating that those shipments likely contained illegal products. However, the majority of shipments were denied entry at three specific ports: San Francisco, CA; Anchorage, AK; and El Paso, TX. Remarkably, Anchorage saw more illegal shipments than places like Los Angeles and New York! El Paso, a border port of entry, is not designated to receive the import and export of wildlife. This means that wildlife shipments are not supposed to enter through El Paso without a special permit, yet El Paso was the third most common port of entry for illegal shipments. Two other common ports of entry may also surprise you – Louisville and Memphis – both of which are home to large international shipping companies that process more than one million packages every day. Meat is the biggest driver of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking takes on many forms. In our analysis, Defenders found 77 different types of wildlife parts and products, including live and dead animals. While you might guess that things like ivory carvings, clothing, or live animals for the pet trade were the most common products in illegal trade – that actually isn’t the case. The most common illegal wildlife products coming into the United States by volume were meat, fins, medicinal products, feathers and shell products. Over 3.3. million pounds of meat and 1.5 million pounds of fins were found in the illegal shipments. Almost 900,000 individual feathers were discovered in the shipments, including feathers from species of eagles, macaws, and owls. More than 550,000 shell products – trinkets made from mollusks or turtles – were also found in the shipments. To the untrained eye, seashells, jewelry, and other objects made from shells may appear ordinary. But the truth is that these items can (and as the data shows, often are) made from protected species and sold illegally. The variety of illegal wildlife products entering the U.S. is vast, but the data gives us some idea of what types of shipments and products to look for. This is important information – not just for policymakers or enforcement officers, but for you, the consumer. With this knowledge, consumers can flag potential purchases of high-risk wildlife products and ask for documentation. Pythons are among the most trafficked animals. In the last decade, more than 2,300 shipments contained over 62,000 pythons or python products. While charismatic megafauna like elephants and rhinos get the most attention, smaller, less adorable animals are also being affected by the illegal wildlife trade in devastating numbers. Mammals and reptiles were most frequently recorded in the data we analyzed, but birds were also found on a regular basis. Pythons, crocodiles and alligators are very well represented in the illegal trade, mostly for leather products made from their skin. But we also saw two unexpected animals among the most frequently trafficked: the white-tailed deer and the Southern African ostrich. The white-tailed deer is commonly imported as a trophy, but is also sought after for its horns alone. The ostrich is used to make leather products, much like the reptiles. While the data showed many shipments containing foreign species, American black bear parts were found repeatedly, mostly imported from Canada. In total, our analysis discovered 5.5 million individual wildlife parts and products, more than 660,000 animals and more than 4.8 million pounds of meat, fins and caviar. Sadly these numbers only represent a fraction of the wildlife on the black market. The trade is vast, and understanding the role the U.S. plays in it – with so many shipments of so many different materials coming from so very many places – is extremely complex. But it is only by gaining a global look at this trade and our place in it that we can begin to truly confront its impacts on the wildlife we care about, both here in the U.S. and around the world. Remember, if you are considering purchasing wildlife or wildlife products, make sure to ask for proper documentation. And when it doubt – rule it out! The post Time to Crack Down on Wildlife Trafficking appeared first on Defenders of Wildlife Blog. 5 Animals Rescued From the Illegal Wildlife Trade Will Give You Hope. The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative illicit trades on the planet. The sale and trade of exotic animals and their parts garners an enormous amount of profit annually, but sadly, this comes at a great cost to the animals. In the past 40 years alone, around 52 percent of the world’s wildlife has disappeared. Although factors like climate change and habitat loss are contributing to this decline, the illegal wildlife trade arguably has the most immediate impact on animal populations. When it comes to the wildlife trade, there is very little discrimination; so long as an animal can turn a profit, they’re a target. These animals are killed to be turned into trinkets rugs or jewelry, for use in traditional Chinese medicine, to be served in lavish restaurants, or captured and sold alive as exotic pets.  It’s estimated that as a result of this trade, one elephant is killed every 15 minutes for their ivory tusks, at least three rhinos are killed a day, and to top it off, there are now currently more tigers living in U.S. backyards as pets than there are in the wild. While the majority of the stories of animals involved with this trade have a tragic ending, there are some that do not. For as many people working to exploit and profit off of wild animals, there are those who have devoted their lives to rescuing and protecting them. These five animals have all fallen victim to exploitation but are living proof that there is hope for a better future with the help of kind, devoted individuals and organizations. 1. Vish the Sloth Vish, the sloth, was captured from the wild when she was a baby to be kept as a pet in Tarapoto, San Martin. Like human children, sloths are very reliant on their mothers for the first few years of life, so without the proper care, Vish became extremely ill. Luckily for this young sloth, neighbors tipped off officials that a three-month-old sloth was being kept in a residential home, illegally.  Thanks to these concerned citizens, Vish was removed from the home and placed in the care of the Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC). At NPC, Vish was hand raised by trained doctors and given all the nutrition and nurturing she needed to grow up nice and strong. Vish spent several weeks undergoing rehabilitation and once she was well enough, she was able to be released back into the wild. 2. Amur Tiger Cub Many tigers who are illegally trafficked are sold as exotic pets or killed so that their parts may be used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Sadly, there is also demand for tigers as delicacies for the elite. Authorities in Russia intercepted a container carrying an amur tiger cub that poachers were attempting to smuggle into China. The cub was likely taken from the wild after his mother was killed by poachers. Police believe the young tiger would’ve wound up as an exotic dish in a restaurant, had he not been rescued. Unfortunately, this cub is unable to be returned back to the wild, but will be able to live his life in the safe confines of a sanctuary. 3. Endangered Turtles At least 200 freshwater turtles were confiscated by authorities in Vietnam last month during two separate seizures. The animals were kept in suitcases prior to being rescued, including the Indochinese Box Turtle, Bourrets Box Turtle, Keeled Box Turtles and Big-headed Turtles. All of the animals are now being cared for and rehabilitated at both the Asia Turtle Program and the Turtle Conservation Centre. Hopefully, with the proper care, they will be able to return to the wild one day. 4. 10-ft-long Python Members of the environmental agency KEMADO sprung into action last month when they got word that a group of fisherman had electrocuted a Rock python and were carrying it from the forest. Python gallbladder is often used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and had the team not rescued the animal authorities are certain the python would’ve wound up dead. Thanks to the quick response from KEMADO, the python was released back into the wild. 5. Budi the Orangutan Budi, the baby orangutan, was rescued, but International Animal Rescue (IAR) after spending the first 10 months of his life as a pet. The woman who was keeping Budi was holding him in a chicken cage and only fed him condensed milk. This poor diet left Budi severely malnourished, and when he was finally taken in by IAR rescuers, things looked bleak. Budi could barely move without screaming out in pain, however, after a lot of care and a proper diet, he began to improve. Now, Budi is a strong, thriving adolescent orangutan who is learning all the basics he needs to survive in the wild at IAR’s Orangutan School. His rescuers hope that in time, he’ll be able to be returned back to the wild. What You Can Do We can all play a part to help protect animals from the illegal wildlife trade. By and large, this trade is driven by consumer demand. By taking a look at our own consumption habits and making small changes like avoiding purchasing anything made from wild animals – like ivory name plates, tortoise shell accessories, and even the animals we might choose as “pets.” If you’d like information on how you personally can help stop the illegal trade of wildlife, check out some of these articles: Do Consumers Have the Power to Shut Down the Wildlife Trade? How U.S. Citizens Are Stepping Up to Stop the Trade Why Teaching Our Kids About the Wildlife Trade is Important Lead image source: International Animal Rescue

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