19 September 2000
 Internet Encouraging Rare Species Trade |
Concern is growing over the increasing availability and trade direct to the public
of rare species over the internet.
Cairncross Ecological Supplies is an animal trading company in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, at which a range of creatures, some very rare including the lesser hedgehog tenrec, can be ordered.  This from the Cairncross site: " SPECIALIZING IN RARE SPECIES WE TRY TO FIND ANYTHING OUR CUSTOMERS NEED. WE SUPPLY DIRECT TO THE PUBLIC BUT ALSO WHOLESALE TO THE TRADE." The following is a posting in May this year by Cary Cairncross of Cairncross Ecological Supplies on an animal hobbyists site: "Five species of Madagascan Tenrecs for sale: Lesser-hedgehog tenrec, Greater-hedgehog tenrec, Common tenrec, Lowland-streaked tenrec, Highland-streaked tenrec all @ US$ 100 each FOB South Africa" In an article in the Sunday Independent this weekend, Cary Cairncross said: "There has been a lot of interest in the website, but mostly I use it to show foreigners pictures of the animals I don't see this as exploitative, since we stick to quotas." However Leon Lötter, head of law enforcement for South Africa's Gauteng department, through which much of the trade passes, is reported as saying: "Last year 1,300 animals were confiscated in this province, and we arrested some 20 people for ivory and rhino horn smuggling." There are concerns over high quotas, the impact of imported wildlife that escape - and, not least, the care of the creatures once they reach their destinations. Trading in mammals, birds and reptiles from Africa has increased enormously in the last 10 years and is now worth an estimated £100m a year. In Madacasgar last year 127,000 animals were exported from just four of the country's nine provinces, and 6,000 export permits were issued. Purchasers were mainly zoos and pet owners in Japan, the US and Europe. |