Illegal trafficking threatens Costa Rica's wildlife
Copyright 2001 Agence France-Presse
September 16, 2001
SAN JOSE, Sept 16 (AFP) - Costa Rica, a tiny Central American nation rich in biodiversity that has become a top destination for ecotourists, is falling under the oppressive cloud of growth and an illegal wildlife trade that is running rampant, environmentalists have charged.
Limpets, squirrel monkeys, toucans, ocelot and jaguar cubs, poisonous toads and tropical fish are among the most sought-after species being peddled on the black market here and abroad, fetching enormous sums in the United States and Europe, according to environmental groups.
"The most expensive birds are parrots and red limpets, which are selling for between 1,000 and 5,000 dollars," said Edgar Castrillo, director of wildlife programs for the National Association for the Protection of Animals. "A poisonous toad costs a minimum of 10 dollars in Europe, while rarer species go for as much as 500 dollars. And fish, depending on the type, range from five to 100 dollars apiece."
More than 80 mammals and 200 birds brought to North America and Europe have been seized this year by ANPA alone, Castrillo told AFP.
The illegal wildlife trade, he said, "saw a boom in the '80s, when thousands of golden toads -- which were on the brink of extinction -- were taken from the country and sold throughout the world as if they were dogs or cats."
Many people buy the exotic animals as pets, but they are also acquired on the black market by hotels, zoos and circuses.
Traffickers employ clever techniques for concealing the animals during the long trip abroad, but many of the birds and mammals do not survive.
"They bind birds' beaks and feet and put them in plastic tubes hidden in suitcases," Castrillo said, adding that toads are often carried in film containers stuffed with moist cotton and fish are transported in bags packed with ice.
As mammals are more difficult to hide, he said, traffickers generally coop them up in cages and, "using bribes, bring them into the country via plane or boat."
"We know there is a heavy trade in animals, but we don't have the human or economic resources to be able to control it," lamented Juan Rodriguez, a biologist overseeing animal protection efforts at the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy.
"We do what we can," he said.
The ministry does not have figures regarding the number of operations underway in the country, he said, but he warned that animals' risk of death increases when they are taken from their habitat.
Rodriguez noted that, in the majority of cases, the animal traffickers who are arrested are set free after paying a small fine.
Under the country's wildlife conservation law, traffickers in animals and wild plants in danger of extinction must pay a fine of between 50,000 colons (156 dollars) and 100,000 colons (312 dollars), or spend one to two years in prison.
For Castrillo, the drastically low fines and the lack of resources to ensure that the law is upheld are enticing more and more foreigners to visit the country and engage in the illegal wildlife trade.
"At the beginning of the year, we arrested an American transporting more than 2,000 toads, concealed in double-lined suitcases," Castrillo told AFP, adding that more than half of the toads had died en route.
The man paid a negligible fine after being arrested with the various species of toads -- many of which, like the golden toad, are on the verge of disappearing from Costa Rica's lush forests.