On the Trail - Robin des Bois

Wolves
Seizure of 645 wolf skins. 1,400 kg (Canis lupus,
Appendix II)
Beijing Capital International Airport, China
July 29, 2013
200 m 2 of wolf skins to make blankets, rugs and
fur coats. 645 wolf skins were packed in 30 bags
labeled «fur scrapes,» with a declared value of U.S.
$ 2,800. The goods were sent from Athens International
Airport. Chinese customs officers from Beijing
International Airport estimate the goods to
be worth around U.S. $ 125,000, nearly U.S. $ 200
per skin. The sender and the recipient identities
have not been made public. The wolf population in
Greece is inferior to the number of skins seized in
China therefore the skins could not have originated
from wolves killed in Greece.
On paper, the wolf is protected by international
conventions and the European Union. The Berne
Convention on the Conservation of European
Wildlife and Natural Habitats lists the species
among those to be strictly protected. CITES lists the
wolf in Appendix II which regulates international
trade of live specimens or wolf parts. The European
Union considers the wolf to be a species of “community
interest” whose conservation requires the
designation of special areas and strict protection.
In the wild, the wolf is threatened. The Berne
Convention allows the killing for “humane» reasons,
humanitarian, sanitary and to facilitate «construction”.
Under this Convention, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and
Spain have expressed reservations about the protection
of the wolf as well as Bulgaria, a neighbouring
country of Greece. The Republic of Macedonia,
another country that shares borders with Greece,
has expressed reservations about the inclusion
of the wolf in Appendix II of CITES. Under the framework
of this Convention, Romania has the right
to export trophies, skulls and wolf skins. Though
limited to 30 units, it however opens a passage for
illegal trade, possibly by the production of false
documents. Kosovo which shares a border with the
Republic of Macedonia has not signed the Berne
Convention or CITES. The European Union allows
«management» measures of wolves in Finland in
the ranging grounds of reindeer herds, Spain north
of the Douro and Greece north of the 39th parallel.
In the Balkan Peninsula, the wolf is a victim of
legal and illegal hunting and numerous poisoning
attempts. Across Europe, the wolf is subject to the
decline of prey and the loss of its preferred forest
habitats. In Turkey, the wolf is considered a pest.
This massive fraudulent trade and export of wolf
skins from Greece may be the work of an international
gang in the heart of Europe and in surrounding
countries. This delivery alone amounts to a tenth of
the wolf population in the European Union which,
in the blink of an eye, has flown off to China. On
August 23 Theodoros Skylakakis, a Greek member
of the European Parliament, called for clarification
and information to be presented by the European
Commission.
35
Red Pandas
© André Collot © EnetEnglish © Josef Hlasek
Seizure of the skin of a red panda (Ailurus fulgens,
Appendix I)
Kapan, Kathmandu District Region Development
Centre, Nepal
July 2013
The 6 traffickers were trying to sell the skin for US$
1,800. They were negotiating the price with a client
when the police arrested them. The red panda could
have been poached near Solukhumbu (Eastern Development
Region). A red panda weighs between 3
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois