For sale: the rarest animals on earth

[Guest guest]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/apr/15/online-trade-threatens-rare-an\

imals

 

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/apr/15/online-trade-threatens-rare-a\

nimals>

For sale: the rarest animals on earth

 

A flourishing illegal online trade in exotic animals is threatening the

survival of many species. Sonia Van Gilder Cooke investigates just what

creatures are for sale

 

Sonia Van Gilder Cooke

 

 

- The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian>, Thursday 15 April

2010

 

 

From Burmese pythons to pygmy marmosets, there is a roaring illegal trade in

animals online. A recent convention on the International Trade inEndangered

Species <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/endangeredspecies> found one

rare species – the Kaiser's spotted newt (an orange and black salamander in

the highland streams of Iran) – now numbers fewer than 1,000 adults in the

wild because of internet trading. So what can you find on the internet? In

just one day, I discovered dealers who appear to be selling some of the

rarest species on earth.

 

*Ploughshare tortoise*

 

Within a few hours, I was staring at an advert for one of the world's most

endangered creatures. It read, " Very superb, jumbo size and most of all very

rare " . Only 200 mature ploughshare tortoises survive in the bamboo

scrublands of north Madagascar; the rest, it seems, are online. And what

would this pair of 30-year-old tortoises cost? £24,000, and a trip to Kuala

Lumpur: there's no international shipping.

 

*Burmese starred tortoise*

 

It is against the law to remove the critically endangered Burmese starred

tortoise from the forests of Myanmar, but I easily found an apparent seller

in Bangkok, Thailand. The dealer's picture features 35 turtles in a laundry

basket lined with newspaper and wilted lettuce. Ten years ago, a survey by

the Wildlife <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/wildlife> Conservation

Society found few specimens in the wild. They did, however, find a tortoise

trader in every village. This seller was asking £320 in cash for each

specimen.

 

*Bosc's monitor lizard and ball python*

 

One classified advert offered a " snake show " and " horse riding " along with

Bosc's monitor lizards (£70) and ball pythons (£75). International law

requires that these African species come with permits from their country of

origin – conservationists worry that few wild-caught Bosc's survive to

maturity in captivity and supplies are replenished from wild populations.

The ad doesn't mention permits.

 

*Elephant ivory*

 

In 2008, eBay banned the sale of ivory, finding it impossible to ensure

trade was legal. It's still available online, however. I called one dealer

who seemed knowledgeable about the required permits; the same can't be said

of many online sellers. Some nod to legality by claiming their ivory is

antique; others don't bother. On Craigslist I found an " Endangered Species

Ivory Neclace " [sic] in California ($120). The seller claims it's " circa

1980 " , but without a permit, there's no way to tell.

 

*Hawksbill turtle*

 

In Japan, artisans began carving hawksbill shells – the only true source of

tortoiseshell – in the 1700s, but banned import of the critically endangered

sea turtle in 1993. I found what appeared to be a tortoiseshell item on

eBay: a " Brand New Takayama Ex-Takahashi Chikudo Model Shamisen Bekko Bachi

Plectrum " . It's a pic for a banjo-like Japanese instrument. The seller in

New York promised a " natural material " of premium grade. Price $370, will

ship worldwide.

 

*Shahtoosh*

 

It takes the wool from five dead Tibetan antelope to make one shawl. That

means you could get about 30,000 luxury garments from the herd estimated to

remain in north-western Tibet. It's illegal worldwide to sell the wool, but

I found an online dealer in Kashmir claiming to sell shahtoosh shawls along

with " fancy wicker baskets " . Price unlisted.

 

*Radiated tortoise*

 

In the wild, the radiated tortoise spends its days munching cactus in the

bushlands of southern Madagascar. " Sub zero " , a dealer in Prai, Malaysia,

has two that are two-and-a-half years into a life that can last for 100.

This pair could outlive the population as a whole: scientists have predicted

it is headed for collapse in the next half century because of habitat loss

and the wildlife trade. Price £710 and £1,220, although Sub zero is offering

a " mega discount " .

 

*Parrots and macaws*

 

A Google search for pet birds turned up an eight-year old Tucuman

Amazon<http://www.arkive.org/tucuman-amazon/amazona-tucumana/> (£450)

in Canada. The seller claimed the bird is from the wild, which would make it

illegal: after 20,000 Tucumans left Argentina in the 1980s to become pets,

international trade in the species was banned in 1990.

 

--

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui