Rio rescues black market monkeys, turtles, birds
Date: 01-Feb-00
Country: BRAZIL
The surprise blitz, part of a recent campaign to discourage smuggling
abroad by cracking down on local trade, caused havoc at an outdoor
market on Sunday with dealers and police diving after cages of shrieking
animals.
Police said they found several dead animals and many with signs of
abuse. They said dealers put sedatives in the animals' water and
sometimes blind birds in one eye to make them more docile.
"Our action against this will be constant," said environmental police
officer Adriana Belem, who led the sting operation. She said police may
request that the town hall shut down the Sunday stalls entirely.
The seven dealers were arrested on charges of illegal trade in wild
animals and face up to a year in prison if convicted. They were later
released on bail.
Four monkeys, 24 baby turtles and 272 birds including finches,
bluebirds, canaries and thrushes were seized at the market and taken to
the Rio Zoo for protection.
According the National Network Against the Trafficking of Wild Animals
(RENCTAS), an estimated 12 million animals are smuggled out of Brazil
every year generating annual revenues of $1.5 billion for dealers.
Brasilia started a training programme for police to help stop the
trafficking in October 1999, which is going nationwide.
Brazil, home to a vast variety of ecosystems ranging from the Amazon
rain forest to the Pantanal wetlands, is a rich source of exotic species
including brilliantly coloured insects, fish and birds such as the
endangered lear macaw as well as jaguars, alligators and giant
tortoises.
But only one out of every 10 animals removed from their natural habitat
survives the journey to private collectors, pet shops and pharmaceutical
firms in Europe, according to RENCTAS.
They are often sold for a pittance on the local black market - the
animals being offered in Rio were generally priced less than $20 - but
the more exotic ones can fetch thousands of dollars abroad.
