On the Trail - Robin des Bois

Seizure of 8 live parrots (Psittaciformes order)
and parakeets (Psittacidae family)
Lisbon District, Portugal
September 2013
The seizure took place following a joint operation
by the police and the Institute for the Conservation
of Nature and Forests. The name of the species is
not mentioned although it was specified that the
animals are listed in the CITES database. The value
of the seizure is US$ 29,867.
Frogs
Seizure of 35 frogs: the flaming poison frog (Oophaga
pumilio, Appendix II), the Maranon poison
frog (Excidobates mysteriosus, Appendix II,
the Ranitomeya frog (genus Ranitomeya ) alive,
and a small gecko
Kreuzlingen, Thurgau Canton, Switzerland
14 th September 2013
In Europe also, taxi drivers don’t only carry human
passengers. This one, of French nationality, was
caught by the Swiss customs officers at a border
checkpoint near Constance coming from Germany.
He could have to pay a fine of US$ 2,200. Switzerland
and Liechtenstein have expressed reservations
about the listing in Appendix II of these protected
amphibia.
Turtles and Tortoises
Total seizure from 1 st July to 30 th September
14,390 turtles and tortoises
1,776 eggs
Seizure of 76 live turtles
Windsor, Province of Ontario, Canada
July 6, 2013
Hong Xin Tong, a Canadian citizen, drove across
the Ambassador Bridge which links Detroit USA to
Windsor in Canada. He had hidden 76 live aquatic
and terrestrial turtles with a total value of U.S. $
6,000 in plastic boxes. He was arrested by the Canadian
border police. The different origins of the
species are currently being investigated by experts.
The individual has already been charged with a
false declaration and tax fraud. He was released on
bail and is to appear before the court at a later date.
Despite CITES regulations and regulatory restrictions
prohibiting the possession of exotic animals
the market of smuggled animals persists in certain
Canadian states. This was the case of Andrew Fruck
who was sentenced to 6 months in jail and US$
7,500 in damage fines for trying to import 1,500
reptiles in the summer of 2012. Another Canadian
citizen, Kwok Sing Lee was also sentenced to a US$
7,500 fine for trying to import 290 birds from China.
© AFP
Oophaga pumilio
© Encarna Sáez Goñalons & Víctor Martínez Moll
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
12
The Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor
© Mark Spowart
Poaching of a 40 kg olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys
olivacea, Appendix I)
Port of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India
7 July 2013
6 persons were questioned for flagrant crime in the
fishing port of Tuticorin by rangers of the Gulf of
Mannar Marine National Park. The poachers were
cutting the turtle up into pieces to collect the meat.
Locally, turtle meat is presumed to activate the male
libido. When they are captured by fishing nets, the
turtles should, in theory, be replaced in the water.
The Park has an area of 560km2 and is situated at
the interior of the biosphere reserve of the Golf of
Mannar. It shelters, among others, 2 species of marine
turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea et Chelonia mydas),
dolphins, hippos, anemones, and coral reefs.
In order to diminish the anthropic effects on the
biodiversity of the Golf of Mannar (overexploitation
of resources, illegal collection of coral), the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the