Latest news with #illegaltrade
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Millions of seahorses smuggled in global illegal trade, UBC researchers say
Nearly five million smuggled seahorses were seized by authorities across the globe over a 10-year span, according to a new study out of the University of British Columbia—which warns the illegal trade is far larger. The study, published last week in the science journal Conservation Biology, analyzed seizure records available online between 2010 and 2021 and found smuggling incidents in 62 countries. Researchers estimated the seizures were worth a combined $29 million. 'The nearly 300 seizures we analyzed were based only on online records and voluntary disclosures including government notices and news stories. This means that what we're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg,' said author Dr. Sarah Foster, a researcher at UBC's Project Seahorse, in a media release. The fish were most commonly found in passenger baggage at airports or in cargo at sea. Dried seahorses are widely used in traditional medicine and are most often bound for China and Hong Kong, often seized alongside other illegally traded wildlife like elephant ivory. The study found emerging trade routes in Europe and Latin America, suggesting the global trade is diversifying. 'All countries must step up with strong deterrents — good detective work, determined enforcement, and meaningful penalties — to shut down the illegal seahorse trade,' said author Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research at OceansAsia, in the release. 'At the same time, we must continue using innovative research and investigation methods to uncover hidden networks and outpace traffickers.' The international seahorse trade is allowed if it adheres to regulations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an agreement signed by 184 countries. It requires exporters to have a permit and prove the fish are being harvested sustainably. Countries' challenges to meet those obligations did not end the seahorse trade, but moved it underground, according to Project Seahorse. 'Illegal trade under bans and suspensions was predictable. Most seahorses are caught by non-selective fishing gear, primarily bottom trawls. As long as such fisheries persist, seahorses will be caught and available for trade,' reads its website. The researchers suggest incentivizing traders to operate legally, rather than stopping seahorse sale altogether. 'We need to make sustainable, legal trade viable enough that people obey the laws, and ensure that we also have sufficient deterrents to stop illegal activity,' said Foster. 'We've done work with traditional medicine traders in Hong Kong, and when we ask them, 'How long do you want seahorses around?', they say 'Forever, they're really important!' And we agree.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Costa Rica police seize 5 capybaras, crack cocaine and marijuana from fleeing vehicle
Costa Rican police seized five capybaras, crack cocaine and marijuana after chasing down a fleeing vehicle on a highway along the Central American country's Pacific coast on Thursday. The large rodents, not native to Costa Rica, are a semi-aquatic South American relative of the guinea pig and happen to be having a moment on social platforms and possessing, transporting or trafficking them is illegal.
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Washington Post
Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya given $7,700 fine or 1-year prison sentence
Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya given $7,700 fine or 1-year prison sentence Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya have been fined $7,700 or the option to serve 12 months in prison — the maximum penalty for the offense — for violating wildlife conservation laws May 7, 2025 at 4:20 a.m. EDT 13 minutes ago
