Profepa: Wildlife Trafficking Grows in Mexico Enrique Alvarado, Andres M. Estrada and Alejandro - El Universal
go to original April 21, 2015

Wildlife trafficking is estimated to be a $19 billion per year global business, surpassed only by black-market sales and trafficking of drugs, humans, and firearms. (VICE)

When agents of the Federal Attorney's Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) arrived at Sonora market in Mexico City, some merchants uttered death threats, others hid the animals in the attics of their stores and those who tried to escape got trapped, because the market's exits were blocked by authorities. In five minutes the agents rescued dozens of clandestine parrots, parakeets and reptiles.

"Animal trafficking is not on the agenda. It is not a priority for the state. [Vicente] Fox did not care about it, [Felipe] Calderón liked the subject, but it was not his priority and president [Enrique] Peña Nieto is not interested. The Environment Ministry (Semarnat) does not have staff to help," said Edgar, a fictitious name of a public servant who has participated in hundreds of operations.

Along with drug trafficking and arms sales, wildlife trafficking, including endangered species, is one of the world's most lucrative crimes, according to the International Police (Interpol).

As in the two other clandestine business, the benefits are exorbitant. A bighorn sheep costs about five million pesos (US$326,106) in the international market, the same as almost three kilos of high purity methamphetamine in the United States, while a spider monkey costs 150,000 pesos (US$9,783) on the black market, the same value as ten AK-47s, the world's best selling rifle.

In Mexico, home to 10% of all the species on the planet, 2,758 animals were rescued in 2012 compared to 481,101 last year.

Read the rest at El Universal

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