Poacher in Taiwan can sell a bear for $4,500
Source: AFP, “Wildlife smuggling in Asia still a roaring trade,” Yahoo News, June 3, 2007.
At least 12,000 bears are kept on bile farms in China
Cathryn Atkinson, “Bear Detecttion Kits tested against smuggling,” The Globe and Mail, July 6, 2007.
Indian tiger pelt can be sold on the black market for up to $16,000
AFP, “Wildlife smuggling in Asia still a roaring trade,” Yahoo News, June 3, 2007.
70 to 80 Asian elephants smuggled out of India every year
According to Reuters, “About 70 to 80 of Assam’s 5,000 wild elephants are smuggled out of the northeastern state every year, conservationists say, despite India’s ban on the trapping of wild elephants in 1986.”
Source: Biswajyoti Das, Reuters, “Elephant Smuggling rampant in India’s Assam,” Alertnet.org, June 15, 2007.
Rhino horn daggers in Arab nations cost up to $14,000 on black market
Source: AFP, “Wildlife Smuggling in Asia still a roaring trade,” Yahoo News, June 3, 2007.
Illegal trade in South African Abalone valued at $70 to $140 million
The illegal trade in South African abalone is estimated at$ 70 to $140 million. The catch is approximately 1,500 tonnes.
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fisheries Centre, “The Global Extent of Illegal Fishing,” April 2008, pg.8.
Japan under-reported $6 billion worth of Bluefin tuna over 20 years
Source: MRAG and the University of British Colombia Fisheries Centre, “The Global Extent of Illegal Fishing,” April 2008, pg. 7.
$350 million of illegal cod caught in 2005
Over 100,000 tonnes of illegal cod valued at 225 million euros (350 million dollars) was caught in the Barents Sea (Atlantic Ocean) in 2005.
Source: AFP, “Illegal cod fishing in Arctic threatening fisheries: WWF,” Yahoo News, April 15, 2008.
100,000 liters of fuel smuggled into Thailand every day from Malaysia
Source: Wichayant Boonchote, “Smuggling of fuel from Malaysia on the increase,” Bangkok Post, May 1, 2008.
International trade in waste is rapidly increasing
A 2005 report by the European Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL) found that ” international trade in waste is rapidly increasing.”
The report mentions the financial profit involved in trash smuggling creates a ” strong incentive for those in the waste chain to avoid controls over the movement and treatment of [...]
