Animal Trade

This article highlights the legal trade of wild animals, especially species that are not listed in the appendices of CITES. Typical and general arguments in favour of wildlife trade are named and compared with known results for the countries of origin of the wildlife. It is extremely difficult to get information of the amount of international wildlife trade of internationally not-preserved species. This makes it easy to overexploit the species without any tool to prevent that. At the example of Paraguay where we got access to permissions and a view into the system of exploiting the indigenous community we show the consequences of the lack of control, lack of interest, corruption and entanglement of authorities and wildlife business.

After a short introduction into the aims of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the definition of the different breeding categories used by CITES („captive bred“, „captive born“ or „farmed“, and „captive raised“ or „ranched“), we present and evaluate import and export statistics of different species and countries. These show many cases of incorrect and inconsequent data, in some cases chelonians are mislabelled, or they entry into a country as „wild caught“ and leave it as „captive bred.“ Typical trading routes are named. We address the limits of CITES and show possibilities of the importing countries to improve the conservation status, i.e. by double-checking non-detriment findings, like it's imperative by each import into the European Union.

The exotic beast trade for public spectacle in the provinces is fraught with gaps in the historical record concerning its organisation and infrastructure. Much of the evidence regarding the organisation and infrastructure of the animal trade is purely from the benefactor’s perspective. There remain several mentions of ‘hunter corporations’ such as the Telegenii who provided trained beasts and bestiarii for these local games, suggesting that there was an established network of traders who provided these services during the Roman Imperial period. But little is known about the ways in which they functioned. Evidence such as the Magerius mosaic or the North African beast catalogue mosaics give insight into aspects of the beast trade, but hardly a complete picture. This paper proposes the use of comparative techniques in order to make comment on how these corporations captured, transported, trained, and traded their animals for public spectacles. This discussion will analyse not only other contemporary empire-wide trade networks, like the grain and slave trades, but also those of other cultures which imported exotic animals. The best recorded example of a multi-regional network of trade in exotic beasts being transported either over land or by ship is the nineteenth century hunter companies of London, Liverpool, and Hamburg. By analysing the trade networks and the subsequent challenges faced by other cultures that imported exotic beasts it is possible to make further comment on how the Roman beast trade network functioned.

Hawksbill shell (tortoiseshell) is still commonly utilized in the Dominican Republic (DR) in the manufacture of hand crafts sold in tourist souvenir shops (locally known as gift shops). Through interviews conducted from January of 2001 to January of 2002, we determined that 29% of gift shops from around the country openly offered this type of merchandise.  Necklaces, hand bags, and bracelets were the most popular items.  Additionally, we confirmed the existence of at least one gift shop in Santo Domingo in which unworked (raw) shell was stored in sacks of approximately 300 kg each.  The owners of this shop indicated that they received this amount of shell every 15-20 days from local vendors.  Using allometric growth equations on measures taken of shell scutes from 46 individual hawksbills, we estimated that these ranged in size from 69.9-97.7 cm straight carapace length, indicating that they were either adults or large juveniles.  Given the depleted status of adult-sized hawksbills in the country, it is possible that significant amounts of tortoiseshell are being smuggled into the DR from other countries in the area.  The importation of tortoiseshell by gift shops, as well as its exportation by customers (usually international tourists) constitute violations of the CITES.  Furthermore, this trade, even on a domestic level, constitutes a violation of local legislation as well as a serious threat for the regional recovery of this critically endangered species.

The exotic beast trade for public spectacle in the provinces is fraught with gaps in the historical record concerning its organisation and infrastructure. Much of the evidence regarding the organisation and infrastructure of the animal trade is purely from the benefactor’s perspective. There remain several mentions of ‘hunter corporations’ such as the Telegenii who provided trained beasts and bestiarii for these local games, suggesting that there was an established network of traders who provided these services during the Roman Imperial period. But little is known about the ways in which they functioned. Evidence such as the Magerius mosaic or the North African beast catalogue mosaics give insight into aspects of the beast trade, but hardly a complete picture. This paper proposes the use of comparative techniques in order to make comment on how these corporations captured, transported, trained, and traded their animals for public spectacles. This discussion will analyse not only other contemporary empire-wide trade networks, like the grain and slave trades, but also those of other cultures which imported exotic animals. The best recorded example of a multi-regional network of trade in exotic beasts being transported either over land or by ship is the nineteenth century hunter companies of London, Liverpool, and Hamburg. By analysing the trade networks and the subsequent challenges faced by other cultures that imported exotic beasts it is possible to make further comment on how the Roman beast trade network functioned.

https://hal-normandie-univ.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02139420
Les animaux exotiques les plus rares et les plus chers, comme l’éléphant ou la girafe, avaient une place de choix parmi les cadeaux diplomatiques entre Occident latin, monde byzantin et Orient islamique. Mais le don d’un éléphant ou d’une girafe nécessitait une logistique importante, comprenant la capture dans le milieu naturel – fort éloigné des capitales arabes – le transport, les soins vétérinaires, l’alimentation et le logement au départ et à l’arrivée chez le destinataire du cadeau. Les témoignages sur ces réalités matérielles des ménageries médiévales sont très rares et les informations transmises peu précises. Nous essaierons néanmoins, à partir de quelques exemples, d’évaluer les difficultés de cette logistique du cadeau diplomatique, pouvant conduire à la mort des animaux transportés et donc à la « destruction », totale ou partielle, du cadeau diplomatique. Nous évoquerons une autre contrainte importante : la durée nécessaire allant de la capture initiale au don final, pouvant prendre plusieurs mois, voire plusieurs années. Les souverains désireux d’offrir les animaux les plus rares devaient donc être en contact avec des marchands spécialisés capables de fournir et de vendre les espèces les plus éloignées. Nous évoquerons donc, quand la documentation le permet, le coût financier de telles entreprises, notamment le prix d’acquisition de certains animaux. Nous apporterons un contrepoint à l’exotisme zoologique indien ou africain en donnant quelques exemples d’importation d’animaux du Grand Nord, notamment des ours blancs et des gerfauts, ces derniers étant extrêmement prisés des fauconniers arabes. Offrir des animaux aussi rares et chers, venant des régions éloignées du Nord et du Sud, parfois selon la demande même du récipiendaire, nécessitait des réseaux marchands complexes, pour parvenir, en fin de compte à une mise en scène du don.

The trade in wildlife is a globally important industry. Amphibians and reptiles are among the most commonly traded animals and this trade has raised concern because of its potential impact on natural populations, animal welfare and the spread of invasive species and emerging infectious diseases. Yet, evaluating the risks involved is difficult due to the lack of quantitative data on the trade. Here, we analyse data on the live reptile and amphibian trade in the USA and the worldwide trade in CITESlisted species over a ten year period. Our analyses show that the trade is dominated by only a few species, with ten species making up the majority of the trade. Moreover, our data show an increase of the contribution of captive bred specimens to the trade in the USA, but not worldwide. Our data do show the presence of several invasive species among those that are traded and bred most. The trade of potential invasive species is problematic and should be more strictly regulated as it may have a global impact on biodiversity and the spread of emerging infectious diseases.

In February 2018, the Bolivian authorities captured two Chinese citizens in a poultry store in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. They were apprehended in possession of 185 jaguar fangs, three feline skins, a 22-caliber pistol, a large sum of money, and body parts of many other animal species, including rattlesnakes, marsh deer, giant armadillos and jaguars. All were to be shipped to Chinese medical markets, where, according to experts in the animal illegal trade, the jaguar -a wild feline native to the Americas -is in more and more demand as a replacement for Chinese medicines derived from their "original" source -the Asian tiger.

This paper presents the main animals apprehended by IBAMA in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, and assesses the consumption of animals of the Amazon fauna in Manaus, in the years 1990 to 1999. Chelonians was the group of animals with the highest number of seizures (52.2% ), but the most traded animal at fairs in Manaus was Agouti paca (28.6%). The most cited animal for consumption in restaurants was the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa).

The trade in wildlife is a globally important industry. Amphibians and reptiles are among the most commonly traded animals and this trade has raised concern because of its potential impact on natural populations, animal welfare and the spread of invasive species and emerging infectious diseases. Yet, evaluating the risks involved is difficult due to the lack of quantitative data on the trade. Here, we analyse data on the live reptile and amphibian trade in the USA and the worldwide trade in CITESlisted species over a ten year period. Our analyses show that the trade is dominated by only a few species, with ten species making up the majority of the trade. Moreover, our data show an increase of the contribution of captive bred specimens to the trade in the USA, but not worldwide. Our data do show the presence of several invasive species among those that are traded and bred most. The trade of potential invasive species is problematic and should be more strictly regulated as it may have a global impact on biodiversity and the spread of emerging infectious diseases.