Photo Gallery: An Epidemic Of Wildlife Smuggling In Asia

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, reports a worrying level of illegal trade of animals and plants in Asia for medicine, pets, and food, many of which are listed by CITES as critically endangered.

1. Philippines – Black Coral

Manila authorities, acting on a tip, apprehended a shipment of two 20-foot containers from Cotabato City in May this year. The container vans had 21,169 pieces of black corals, 161 stuffed hawksbill and green turtles, and 7,340 pieces of rare seashells. Charges have been filed against the couple allegedly responsible for the smuggling of the goods.

The area damaged from poaching of the black corals is estimated at 190 square kilometers, while the hawksbill is listed as a critically endangered sea turtle.

Black corals are harvested to make jewelries, and the Black coral trees near Viosca Knoll in the Gulf of Mexico are among Earth’s oldest living organisms.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey; Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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