Wildlife smuggling is a lucrative business for smugglers willing to take the risks.
the trafficking in illegal imports racks up $8 billion to $10 billion US a year in sales. Hot commodities for trade include rare butterflies, birds, fish, snakes and mammals. Some are bought by sleazy collectors or dealers in exotic pets. Other creatures, or their parts, are destined to be consumed as aphrodisiacs or food. Many animals die en route, of course, and even those that survive can rarely be returned to their homes.
One man arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after an 18-hour trip from Asia had two lesser slow lorises, or pygmy monkeys, stuffed into his underwear. When inspectors opened some of his luggage, birds of paradise flew out. His travelling companion had a pair of leopard cats in his backpack, Johns told the New York Times. Another man is accused of smuggling reptiles from South Asia in his prosthetic leg.
Later,
Kenaz
