Rango: Film May Have Unintended Impact and Spur Pet Trade

On March 4, the animated feature film, Rango, starring Johnny Depp as the movie’s star–a pet chameleon who ditches his pet lizard tank and winds up in Dirt, a Mojave desert town–opens. While the movie may very well delight viewers, it may also spark a spike in sales of these exotic reptiles as pets. Trends in…

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The Wildlife: Amphibian Trade, Alejandra Goyenechea

Alejandra Goyenechea, international lawyer, discusses the global amphibian trade and its impact on rare and threatened species. She tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme about the benefits of frogs and the many threats – such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, disease, and overexploitation – to their survival. Did you know frogs indicate environmental quality,…

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Operation 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…

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