More than 1,800 live individuals of 217 species of wildlife were seized in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil in the last semester of 2021

More than 1,800 live individuals of 217 species of wildlife were seized in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil in the last semester of 2021

February 3, 2022 09:57

Between July and December 2021, 348 news about seizures of the wildlife of illegal origin were registered, with 217 species involved. The report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reveals that birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish continue to be the object of the illegal wildlife trade in the Andean-Amazonian countries.

Since 2019, WCS, within the framework of the Alianza por la Fauna Silvestre y los Bosques, has been monitoring the news about confiscations of live wildlife or its parts, in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil (Acre states). and Amazon). Each semester, based on the news reports published on the information portals and social networks of the government authorities, an infographic is published with the results on the species of vertebrate wildlife, frequently found in these confiscations.

 

During the last semester of 2021, 348 notices of seizures were registered, of which 118 came from Ecuador, 104 from Bolivia, 46 from Brazil, 43 from Colombia and 37 from Peru.

 

According to this registry, the confiscated specimens belonged to 217 species, of which 43% corresponded to birds, 37% to mammals, 16% to reptiles, 2% to fish and 1% to amphibians.

 

Among the most common species found in seizures are: the Paiche or Piracucu fish (Arapaima gigas), the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata), the Taricaya or river peta tortoise (Podocnemis unifilis), the yellow-cheeked parrot (Amazona amazonica) and the Blue-Yellow Macaw or Blue Macaw (Ara ararauna). All of these species are included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which means that they could become threatened with extinction unless their trade is strictly controlled.

 

Especies-mas-frecuentes-1

 

It is estimated that in the operations carried out by the control authorities the following were confiscated:

  • 1887 live individuals, possibly destined for pet markets or private collections, where 48.5% of the total wildlife seizures were reptiles.
  • 1822 eggs, the majority of the Taricaya or River Peta turtle (1792 eggs), possibly intended for consumption.


At the country level, the figures revealed that:

 

In Peru, 222 kg of meat from wild animals including deer (Mazama sp.) and majaz (Cuniculus paca) were seized in August, in an operation carried out in Ucayali.

 

In Colombia, 3,493 shark fins and 117 kg of fish swim bladders were seized in September, which were packed in 10 boxes and were to be illegally exported to Hong Kong.

 

In Ecuador, that same month, 213 dead seahorses (Hippocampus ingens) were seized from luggage at the Guayaquil "José Joaquín de Olmedo" airport.

 

In Bolivia, between August and September, 1,681 Taricaya or River Peta turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) eggs were seized in operations carried out in the departments of Beni and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

 

In Brazil, between July and November, more than 40.8 tons of Paiche or Pirarucú (Arapaima gigas) were seized in the State of Amazonas.

 

It is noteworthy from this monitoring that only 82 people were arrested for their alleged participation in wildlife trafficking activities (although it is unknown if they were convicted or not), of which 52 were arrested in Brazil, 15 in Peru, 12 in Colombia, 2 in Ecuador and 1 in Bolivia.

 

With regard to legal proceedings, between October and December 2021, 14 news items were reported in official press bulletins from prosecutors' offices in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru on legal proceedings in cases of wildlife trafficking. Peru is the country that reported the highest number of cases, with a prosecution rate of 85%, and sentences imposed in the quarter from 1 to 3 years and 9 months in prison, and fines of up to 420 US dollars. In second place is Colombia, and in third place Ecuador. The Bolivian prosecutor's office did not report legal proceedings or sentences imposed in the period.

 

These alarming figures demonstrate the magnitude of the current problem of wildlife trafficking in these countries, which puts species and ecosystems at risk. Despite the fact that the number of discoveries of trafficked individuals and eggs is lower compared to the figures detected in the first half of 2021, this decrease may be related to other causes such as new strategies implemented by traffickers or changes in the frequency of traffickers. operational. Although the countries are making efforts to penalize these actions, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of the authorities to prevent, detect and punish these crimes, as well as to achieve compliance with the law and the protection of species.

Reporte de Noticias sobre tráfico de fauna silvestre en los países andino-amazónicos julio-diciembre 2022

Download the infographic

Here

About the Alliance for Wildlife and Forests


The Alliance for Wildlife and Forests is a regional action promoted by the European Union and implemented by WCS and WWF that seeks to combat wildlife and timber trafficking, through the commitment of civil society in strengthening the application of the law and cooperation with and between the authorities of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and tri-border areas with Brazil. 


For media contact:


Dora Arevalo. Senior Communications Specialist – AAO Wildlife Anti-Trafficking Program. wcs. darevalo@wcs.org +(57) 3164783045.

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