ON-THE-TRAIL-5.Pdf

Information and analysis bulletin on animal poaching and smuggling n°5 / 1st April - 30th June 2014 Contents Introduction The Following Vessels Are Wanted by Interpol 3 Numerous messages have been sent to Ro- Sea Cucumbers 4 bin des Bois from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Corals 5 American continent. They come from Custom officers, CITES delegates, governmental insti- Marine Mollusks 5 tutions, Non-Governmental Organizations and Fishes 6 from the general public. They all testify to the Marine Mammals 10 usefulness of “A la Trace” and the English ver- The ex-Japanese Sea Lion 11 sion “On the Trail”. Multi Marine Species 13 The closer that species with substances conside- Saltwater Crocodile 13 red to be of value come to global or local extinc- Marine Turtles 14 tion, the more the means to attack and to de- Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises 17 fend them turn murderous. The total of human Snakes 22 mortality in this war on wildlife is increasing. Sauria 24 Thefts of seizures, including from governmental The Long Haul of San Salvador Rock Iguanas 25 safety vaults, are multiplying. These hold-ups Crocodilians 26 yield, for those who organize them, more money Multi-Species Reptiles 29 than bank and cash transportation robberies. Amphibians 32 Smuggling of live felines and monkeys are in- Birds 33 creasing as well as the smuggling of skulls and Holy Week 44 bones, notably of gorillas and elephants. Pangolins 46 There is a general tendency to more severe Primates 52 sentences on traffickers, as well as harder judg- Felines 59 ments but release on bail is still common. Bears 67 Rhinoceroses 68 Archaic practices such as the use of poisoned Unicorns Are Real 77 arrows and trap jaws clash with modern tech- niques used by criminal police. Analyses of DNA Elephants 81 are used to confuse tiger hunters in India and Elephants to the Farmers’ Rescue 94 trace horns and ivory seized by African custom Naturabuy.fr officers. The French Internet Site That Kills 104 Ivory from the Past 105 “On the Trail” n°5: 506 events at the heart of Others mammals 106 smuggling and poaching endangered species on land and at sea. World Cup 111 Multi-Species 112 Tarantula-Mania 129 1 Carried out by Robin des Bois with the encouragement and financial support of the Fondation Brigitte Bardot, the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux and the Fondation Franz Weber reconnue d’utilité publique 28, rue Vineuse - 75116 Paris Tél : 01 45 05 14 60 www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr CITES* Appendices Appendix I : species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances and under import and export permits. Appendix II : export permit required in order to avoid utilization incompatible with the species survi- val. Import permit if required by national law. Appendix III : species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. In the case of trade from a State that included the species in Appendix III, an export permit of that State is required. * Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 180 Member States. On The Trail # 5. Robin des Bois 2 The Following Vessels Are Wanted by Interpol 1 – The Stellar, ex-Sungari, ex-Phoenix, ex-Shoei Maru. IMO 8916011. Warning, this vessel changes names and flags as fast as the wind shifts direction. The last known flags are Cambodia, Namibia and Si- erra Leone. As all vessels involved in transshipment of Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) she is in a very bad state with large tires on both sides of the hull serving as fenders. The last known port of call was Busan – South Korea, June 3. The Stellar docked in Vigo in Spain under the name Glo- ria Brasil under Namibian flag. The Gloria Brasil at Vigo in 2010 © Angel luis Godar Moreira / Capture Robin des Bois sur Shipspotting 2 - The Samudera Pasific n°8 is suspected of illegal fishing and violations of labor laws. Following the illegal depart from Cape Town in South Africa on December 29, 2013, she had most probably changed name, flag and even IMO number. Fishing gear: tuna drifting longline. This vessel is a risk of pollution to the marine and coastal environments. It is possible that the last operator scuttled the vessel to avoid investigations. Samudera Pasific n°8 © Interpol The Samudera Pasific n°8 made its get away from Cape Town at the same time as the Berkat Menjala n°23. These fishing vessels were under sequestra- tion in the South African port. They belong to a group of 10 longliner tuna fishing vessels whose last known owner is established in Indonesia. They take part in IUU fishing on the high seas and in the Exclusive Economic Zone of South Africa. The 75 crew members, mostly of Taiwanese and Indone- sian origin, were virtually slaves. Some of them have not been paid for 3-5 years. Berkat Menjala n°23 © Interpol Notice Interpol Stellar: http://www.interpol.int/content/download/25280/350544/version/9/file/ P0208%2006%2014%20F%20-%20public.pdf Notice Interpol Samudera Pasific n°8: http://www.interpol.int/content/download/23447/350473/ version/21/file/P0151%20F%20public.pdf Notice Interpol Berkat Menjala n°23: http://www.interpol.int/content/download/23449/350471/ version/15/file/P0152%20F%20public.pdf 3 On The Trail # 5. Robin des Bois Sea Cucumbers AMERICA REPEATED OFFENSE Seizure of 300 kg of sea cucumber (Isostichopus fuscus, Appendix III in Ecuador) © Profepa Campeche, Campeche State, Mexico April 2014 When inspectors arrived, 30 people fled from 3 boats. One suspect was quickly identified. This is José Moisés Quetz Chavez, already known for simi- Seizure of 2.5 t of sea cucumbers - 55,955 ani- lar offenses. In August 2013 he was arrested in Le- mals (Isostichopus fuscus, Appendix III in Ecua- rma for being in possession of 250 kg of sea cucum- dor) ber in a Ford pick-up truck. The other passengers Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico had escaped. May 21, 2014 After 2 weeks of investigation, authorities seized Surprise inspection of a business. The business re- 300 kg of sea cucumber, 30 kg of periwinkle and 10 sponsible has 5 days to justify the merchandise’s or- kg of octopus in an underground storage between igin. If it cannot, it risks a fine and a prison sentence. Campeche and Lerma where the goods were kept, weighed, and cleaned. It was then divided into small batches, and one by one, was removed from the storage to Volkswagen Jetta, with extreme pre- caution to go unnoticed by the authorities. 300 kg of sea cucumber boiled up would equal 3 tons of live animals. © Profepa Note that the authorities had already known the location because the previous tenant was a drug dealer. ASIA Seizure of 2 t of sea cucumbers (class Holothu- roidea) © Edgar Itche Chereapani Reef, Union Territory of Lakshad- weep, India April 7, 2014 After 4 hours of hot pursuit, the Coast Guard’s ICGS Rajdoot caught a Sri Lankan high seas longliner. The 16 poachers were eventually arrested and their spoils seized. These experts in night diving col- lected 2 tons of sea cucumbers on board, totaling 120,000 US$. According to the commanding Officer of ICGS Rajdoot, it is the first time that Sri Lankan fishermen were arrested along the West Coast. The © Edgar Itche only species listed on CITES Appendix III in Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru is Isostichopus fuscus, but in the Indian waters sea cucumbers are protected. Seizure of 12,341 sea cucumbers (Isostichopus fuscus, Appendix III in Ecuador) Tijuana, State of Baja California, Mexico April 2014 Checking the attached documentation to the load, the inspectors realized that there was a problem. Nothing matched, neither the description nor the quantity nor the volume. After a closer inspection, they found 36 boxes of 12,341 fresh, frozen or cooked brown sea cucumbers instead of the 1759 semi-dried ones reported. © Bangalore Mirror On The Trail # 5. Robin des Bois 4 Corals AFRICA Seizure of 45 kg of coral (class Anthozoa) El Aaiún, El Taref Province, Algeria April 11, 2014 After receiving anonymous reports, the El Kala cus- toms caught 2 smugglers and seized 45 kg of coral, diving flashlights, a compass and binoculars. The suspects tried to transport the coral to Tunisia and then Europe. They would be sent to the public pros- © Midi-madagasikara ecutor in court in El Kala in a few days. The term “precious coral” refers to about 30 species belonging to the genus Corallium and Para- corallium. Precious corals were heavily exploited around the world by the jewelry, souvenir, and some homeopathic product industries. Although trade has mainly targeted and are most demanded by the jewelry sector, such as Corallium rubrum in Bottles of the poaching divers found the Mediterranean Sea and the North East Atlantic unburied on the beach Ocean, C. Secundum, C. konojoi, C. elatius, C. regale and Paracorallium japonicum of the Pacific Ocean. These activities have threatened the entire class of Marine Mollusks corals. ASIA Theft of a seizure of 900 kg of black corals (An- tipatharia spp., Appendix II) Seizure of 20 tons of giant clams (Tridacnidae Androy Region, Toliara Province, Madagascar spp., Appendix II) May 2014 Mengalum Island, Sabah, Malaysia The looting of black corals in Madagascar locally April 10, 2014 called Tangoaraky and nicknamed rosewood of the The seizure is estimated to be worth RM 500,000 sea is in full swing just like the looting of rosewood (153,248 US$).

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