Global News - December 2007
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Demand for rare pets fuels Chinese smuggling
Thu 27 December 2007 12:30 UK — Asia,Reptiles
A demand for rare and unique pets is fuelling the smuggling of endangered animals into China, government officials have warned.
Recent discoveries by customs officials at Guangzhou airport have revealed rare animals such as boa snakes and lizards are being smuggled into the country for sale in pet markets, a customs official told China Daily.
"In the past two years we have been seizing a lot of animals, including some on the lists of endangered species assembled by international organisations," a spokesperson from Guangzhou Customs told the website.
A researcher from the South China Agricultural University, Chen Xi, explained that the popularity of smuggling was fuelled by the low cost of animals brought into the country in that way.
"It is cheaper to smuggle some kinds of animals, which can be had for just half or a third of the normal price on the market,"
Earlier this year, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security called on the country's local police to step up their efforts to prevent the illegal hunting, smuggling and sale of wild animals in China.
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