Global News - May 2008
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Czech authorities 'concerned about rises in illegal animal trading'
Thu 22 May 2008 14:00 UK — Europe,Other
Authorities in the Czech Republic are attempting to stop the illegal trade of animals from increasing in the country.
Recently, Australian customs officers discovered 15 rare geckos in parcels bound for the eastern European nation.
A report on Radio Prague's website suggested that officials do not think this is an isolated incident and are concerned that rising levels of wealth in the nation might cause the demand for exotic animals to boom.
In fact, it said that animals are the third most smuggled type of good - behind drugs and weapons - in the country.
However, Jitka Kufnerova, from the Czech Environmental Inspection Agency, told the station that it was very difficult to accurately assess the extent of the illegal wildlife trade in the nation.
"Animal smuggling is organised differently from other illegal activities. There is no stable network. It's just a network of people who know each other which gets together in individual cases," she said to the broadcaster.
To combat the problem, authorities have stepped up searches and begun to monitor reptile and parrot markets.
Despite the measures, Ms Kufnerova admitted it was hard to stop the problem. She explained that one smuggler admitted in a police interview that authorities only "uncovered one of ten shipments".
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