The Wildlife Blog
Mongabay.com: An Interview with Rhett Butler
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.com June 16, 2010 Rhett Butler, founder of mongabay.com, spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about what prompted him to develop his environmental website and also about some of the more interesting and bizarre stories he’s pursued in Madagascar, the Amazon and around the world. This interview was…
Read MoreEagle Feathers Illegally Sold
Feathers from protected bird are a coveted item in many parts of the world. While Animal Investigators details a case of feathered body costumes of Brazil’s Amazon Indians, feathered artifacts from Native Americans in the United States are equally as coveted. In March 2009, four men were arrested by federal fish and wildlife agents after an investigation…
Read MoreBear—The High Stakes of Bear Gall Bladder Trafficking: Homicide
In October 1991, New York Police Department Detective Tommy Dades stepped around the spatters and followed the crimson trail to the first bedroom. His eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the body: a middle-aged Korean-American man, throat slashed, sprawled across one of the beds. A pillow covered the victim’s head, presumably to let his…
Read MoreBear Bile Trafficking Stopped in Los Angeles, California
On March 27, 2009 the press reported that a South Korean woman living in LA illegally imported nearly a kilogram of bear bile via mail into the United States for traditional Chinese medicine. One kilo of bear bile has a street value of about $40,000, and is worth more than a kilo of cocaine. This…
Read MoreOperation Shellshock Breaks Up Reptile Smuggling Ring in New York
On March 19, 2009, New York’s state Department of Environmental Conservation announced one of its largest and most extensive undercover operation into illegal wildlife trafficking that resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals on 14 felonies and 11 misdemeanors for poaching, smuggling and illegally selling protected reptiles and amphibians. The two-year undercover investigation, called “Operation…
Read MoreBrazil Macaw Trafficking Ring Broken Up
Big news broke in mid-March about the largest wildlife trafficking bust in Brazil ever. Jorge Pontes, head of Interpol in Brazil, contacted me about the bust of a huge macaw smuggling ring. On Friday, March 13, 2009, Brazilian Federal Police and Interpol arrested 102 people in 9 states. Interpol issued red notices (wanted) for 6…
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