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SMUGGLERS SAID DECIMATING COLOMBIA'S WILDLIFE( Most People Dont Know This is Big Business Here Much Like Cocaine)

Smugglers said decimating Colombia's wildlife
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COLOMBIA: REUTERS NEWS FILES

SMUGGLERS SAID DECIMATING COLOMBIA'S WILDLIFE

BOGOTA - Business is booming - and millions of exotic animals are dying every year because of it.
That was the message authorities conveyed this week, in a report on the black market trade in Colombia's wildlife.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters Friday, was co-authored by the Environment Ministry and Colombia's state security police and focuses on the virtual rape of a country long considered one of the world's richest in terms of biodiversity.

About 7 million reptiles, multi-coloured birds, frogs, monkeys, spiders and other species are smuggled out of Colombia yearly, according to the report.

But it said a full 80 percent - 5.6 million animals a year - die en route to the United States, Europe and Asia because of widespread mistreatment and the abysmal conditions in which most are shipped.

Crocodiles, black alligators, turtles, iguanas and other serpents are the top smuggling item, since their skins fetch a high price abroad.

But parrots, Guacamayas and other wild birds are almost equally popular, according to the report, which said Colombia's fauna generates about $40 million in sales on the black market every year.

A Guacamaya can be had for as little as $11 from a peasant who traps it in the jungles and savanna of southern Colombia, the report said.

It said the same bird sells for about $88 in Bogota, however, and is valued at thousands of dollars on the streets of New York.

By DodgerDogs on Mar 10, 2008, 23:26 in Friendly Talkzone.

DodgerDogs says on Mar 10, 2008, 23:27:

"Wildlife Smuggling" is second only to Cocaine smuggling.
There are cases documented where the FARC and ELN have financed their war with smuggled wildlife .
There are groups here where they kill each other over the competition , much like drug cartels.
As their is million of dollars at stake in the wildlife trade.
. On any given day at Miami airport un-told numbers of
smuggled wild life from Colombia pass through un detected.

In 2007 Customs confiscated over 20,000 birds and other animals on flights from Colombia, and they say that is only a small percent that gets through un-detected.

With more than 5 and 1/2 million birds and other animals dying in route to the
USA and Europe , there is a big piece of Colombia's Nature" lost forever "
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

All the above pics are Colombian native wildlife

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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DodgerDogs says on Mar 10, 2008, 23:35:

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
Thes picures are a very small sample of the " Millions of Animals " that die each
year. Colombia loses its nature at a alarming rate.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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DodgerDogs says on Mar 10, 2008, 23:49:

MONKEY GETS TAKEN FOR A RIDE
By chief | August 9, 2007

ugust 9 , 2007 — It wasn’t a big yellow hat, but it worked just the same. A man smuggled a monkey onto a La Guardia-bound plane yesterday by hiding the baby marmoset under his hat, officials said

Passengers and crew on the Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale alerted authorities on the ground after the simian was seen playing in the man’s pony tail.

“Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him,‿ said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison Russell.

The little monkey was taken into custody by officials with the city Animal Care and Control after the plane was met by Port Authority police when it pulled up to Gate B6 at about 3 p.m.

The two had flown the previous day from Lima, Peru to Lauderdale, where the monkey man went through customs and security, officials said.

The monkey - which was “the size of a fist,‿ according to one source - was under his hat the entire time, the officials said.

“There was no national security issue,‿ said Fari Koshetz, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Fort Lauderdale.
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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poco says on Mar 10, 2008, 23:56:

Quote: Thes picures are a very small sample of the " Millions of Animals " that die each
year.

A small sample indeed.

Quote: Two particularly egregious cases highlight how scheming smugglers continually develop innovative ways to use animals to transport drugs. In one case, dubbed Operation Cocaine Constrictor, more than 300 boa constrictors from Colombia were implanted with cocaine-filled condoms inserted into their rectums (which were then sewn shut), causing the deaths of all but 63 of the creatures. It may very well have been the assumption that few wildlife inspectors would want to closely examine a shipment of snakes that lead the smugglers to devise such a cruel ploy.

http://www.awionline.org/wildlife/aa-trade.htm

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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island girl says on Mar 11, 2008, 00:03:

Whoa this is tragic .... there have been campaigns in North America to discourage people from buying exotic pets ... which in many cases originate on the black market ... then "Friends" showcases a monkey or Paris Hilton buys a Kinkajou and every one wants one ... And I suppose another comparison to the narcotic black market might be that if we can really erase any sort of desire to own these sorts of animals, stop glamourizing the ownership of them in the media, then we can cut down on the demand...
So sad!

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DodgerDogs says on Mar 11, 2008, 00:04:

They also take homing pigeons raised in Florida, and take them to Colombia, where they
have velcro straps of Cocaine packets attached , and then set free to return back to Florida
( in 3 - 4 days )

The smugglers are very intelligent in their creative methods, and its the Colombia's
citizens who are also victims, as the lose their Nature everyday.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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island girl says on Mar 11, 2008, 00:07:

Are you serious? Ummmmmmmmm I know their are migratory birds that travel miles and miles to other parts of the world, but a homing pigeon going between continents? Really?

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DodgerDogs says on Mar 11, 2008, 00:12:

Florida to Barranquilla or Santa Marta is not that far , a jet takes about 2 hrs 15 minutes.
Homing pigeons have been known to return to their roost from over 1,000 miles

I also talked with one DAS agent who said, they shoot Palomas(Homing pigeons) flying out to sea everyday.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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miamimike says on Mar 11, 2008, 00:21:

DD-they have travelers from Colombia arriving in MIA who have had these exotics tucked away in the damndest places on their Bodies! One who was busted had some of those small monkeys tucked in his Cap! Another had animals hidden in extra pockets sewn into his jacket and Oversize baggy pants. Other times women have been caught with exotics in their Dolly parton size Bras(bet that was a nice trip) Customs find them hidden in every imaginable type of Cargo known to man on Ships and Planes.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 11, 2008, 04:56:

one thing i hate is animal being taken out of their natural habitat, It should be banned complete

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sloopskipper says on Mar 11, 2008, 06:44:

island girl, the hummingbirds/colibris/picaflores are the smallest birds in the World. The Ruby Throated Hummingbrird migrates from northern North America to the Costa Rica/Panamá frontier. Supposedly, some cross the Gulf of Mexico, flying from Forida to the Yucatan.

Pretty amazing for a bird which only weighs about 3-4g (a nickel weighs about 5g); and is only about 3.5 inches from beak to tail.

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poco says on Mar 11, 2008, 10:31:

Quote: one thing i hate is animal being taken out of their natural habitat, It should be banned complete.

It is banned and from the looks of the photos an attempt is being made to stop it. Plus I've haven't seen a parrot for sale in two years, who knows maybe gringos in Bogota pay more money than a rural town?

This trade is second only to drugs and they're banned.

Shucks,, lets just make it legal.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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getting better says on Mar 11, 2008, 17:17:

It is horrible to see this evidence of continuing trade in Colombia's wildlife. Of course it is repulsive. But the reality is that 90% of the threat to endangered species in Colombia comes from habitat destruction, and the overwhelming priority is to protect the most important areas of forest.

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