TortTime

rhamphotheca:

How the Global Pet Trade is Impacting the Survival of Many Exotic Species

by Ken Howell,

Curator of Upland Tropical Rainforest, National Aquarium

When it comes to pets, most people are content keeping traditional cats and dogs while others desire animals with a more exotic flair. Pet stores and online vendors offer the potential exotic pet owner an abundance of wildlife, ranging from parrots and marmosets to cobras and scorpions. Sadly, many recipients of exotic wildlife are unaware that their purchases may support a trade that is often illegal, inhumane, or detrimental to wild populations.

It may come as a surprise to many that the United States is one of the largest importers of live animals in the world with over one billion live animals imported since the year 2000. Various regulatory agencies strive to control this trade. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for enforcing not only its own internal regulations but also those regulations that fall under the auspices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)…

(read more: National Aquarium)

rhamphotheca:

How the Global Pet Trade is Impacting the Survival of Many Exotic Species

by Ken Howell,

Curator of Upland Tropical Rainforest, National Aquarium

When it comes to pets, most people are content keeping traditional cats and dogs while others desire animals with a more exotic flair. Pet stores and online vendors offer the potential exotic pet owner an abundance of wildlife, ranging from parrots and marmosets to cobras and scorpions. Sadly, many recipients of exotic wildlife are unaware that their purchases may support a trade that is often illegal, inhumane, or detrimental to wild populations.

It may come as a surprise to many that the United States is one of the largest importers of live animals in the world with over one billion live animals imported since the year 2000. Various regulatory agencies strive to control this trade. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for enforcing not only its own internal regulations but also those regulations that fall under the auspices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)…

(read more: National Aquarium)

TortTime

Smuggler found with 13 percent of world’s critically-endangered tortoise species

A 38-year-old Thai man has been arrested at a Bangkok airport trying to collect a large bag filled with some of the rarest tortoises in the world.

The bag contained 54 ploughshare tortoises and 21 radiated tortoises, both of which are endemic to Madagascar and assessed as critically endangered. The ploughshare tortoise is considered among the rarest species in the world, with just 400 individuals believed to be found in the wild.

…

One the same day, Cites officers (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) also found 300 Indian star tortoises and 10 black pond turtles in an unclaimed bag. The former is prized as an exotic pet, despite being protected in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

source http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/28/tortoise-smuggling

Smuggler found with 13 percent of world’s critically-endangered tortoise species

A 38-year-old Thai man has been arrested at a Bangkok airport trying to collect a large bag filled with some of the rarest tortoises in the world.

The bag contained 54 ploughshare tortoises and 21 radiated tortoises, both of which are endemic to Madagascar and assessed as critically endangered. The ploughshare tortoise is considered among the rarest species in the world, with just 400 individuals believed to be found in the wild.

…

One the same day, Cites officers (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) also found 300 Indian star tortoises and 10 black pond turtles in an unclaimed bag. The former is prized as an exotic pet, despite being protected in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

source http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/28/tortoise-smuggling