Were it not for the collapse of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), more wildlife would be happily fluttering and leaping through the forests of present-day Russia. At least that’s what the Inter Press Service News Agency reported on July 31st. If your response was like mine, you probably just said “huh?” Apparently, the newly rich citizens of Russian demand exotic pets, including such endangered species as lemurs, rare birds, and Caiman, which are sold along with such domestic animals as cats, guinea pigs, and fish.
In spite of efforts by the Russian government to curtail the illegal trade of endangered species, enterprising Russian capitalists have become even more sophisticated by creating internet sites that offer exotic pets for sale. While wildlife inspectors have moved against offending pet shops in Moscow, tracking down internet sales has proven more difficult. Now, more than before, Russians are able to obtain rare parrots from internet dealers, and this is a clear danger to protected species of wildlife. Among those who deal in exotic animals, profits far outweigh the penalties of being convicted of dealing in endangered species. If convicted, fines in Russia range from $10.00 to $80.00, which according to this article, is “hardly enough to put some traders off, given the scale of the business.”
In spite of efforts by the Russian government to curtail the illegal trade of endangered species, enterprising Russian capitalists have become even more sophisticated by creating internet sites that offer exotic pets for sale. While wildlife inspectors have moved against offending pet shops in Moscow, tracking down internet sales has proven more difficult. Now, more than before, Russians are able to obtain rare parrots from internet dealers, and this is a clear danger to protected species of wildlife. Among those who deal in exotic animals, profits far outweigh the penalties of being convicted of dealing in endangered species. If convicted, fines in Russia range from $10.00 to $80.00, which according to this article, is “hardly enough to put some traders off, given the scale of the business.”
But government inspectors are busy, as evidenced by the fact that recent seizures of illegal animals included tranquilized parrots and rare falcons that were found inside the luggage of outbound travelers from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Two other smugglers were recently caught attempting to smuggle eighteen bears into China. Besides the parrots and falcons, wildlife and customs agents also seized more than 3,000 spiders in 2004, which one official claims is but a small percentage of the amount of illegal animal smuggling.
Note: As far as I’m concerned, all spiders are “endangered,” because I squash them whenever I can. But seriously, folks . . . who in the hell would want to purchase a spider in the first place, and what kind of sick mind would stuff spiders in their luggage?
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) claims that the considerable smuggling of birds of prey out of Russia, sold mainly in Arab countries, produces tens of thousands of dollars in profits for animal smugglers. Well, this is certainly bad news: Al-Qaeda may be training these birds of prey to carry missiles. But worse still, IPS News reports that the greatest threat to endangered species comes from the smuggling of animal parts, a trade that could be worth tens of millions of dollars each year. Included in the “illegal parts list” are tiger skins, bones, and bear gallbladders — the latter of which are sought by East Asian countries for their perceived medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities. Um . . . aphrodisiac? Whatever happened to beer?
Along with animals that flutter and leap are other endangered species that ostensibly slither their way in the unscrupulous nets of animal trappers. For example, sea slugs are hot items for sale in Korea, China, and Japan. According to one source of information, more than 33,000 dried sea slugs have been confiscated and more than sixty poachers have been detained this year alone. Here’s a good question — what wine goes best with dried sea slugs?
Sturgeon, which are fish sought for caviar, are in high demand in the United States and Europe. In fact, one of Russia’s more pressing environmental problems is centered on the Caspian sturgeon population, which represents about two-thirds of the world’s total. In this case, poaching is believed to harvest ten times the officially sanctioned sturgeon yield.
According to an Interpol Report (not specifically cited), trafficking in wildlife is now the second largest form of international smuggling after drugs. In total, the international smuggling of exotic animals (and parts) is worth an estimated $6 billion a year.
Okay, so my problem with this story is the premise that if communism was still in full swing in Russia, there wouldn’t be any smuggling of exotic animals and the inference that because of capitalism, Tweety Bird and the Tasmanian Devil are nearly extinct. Honestly, I have a difficult time taking this issue seriously. And while I hate seeing Siberian Tigers becoming extinct (although I’m not sure that Siegfried and Roy would agree), is it really fair to blame the extinction of tigers on capitalism given the fact that the USSR has only been gone now for a little shy of fifteen years? And as for the danger of extinction among sea slugs, spiders, sharks, crocodiles, and cobras, how is that a bad thing?
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