They are kept as luxury pets. Or killed for supposed medicine. Now almost 20,000 wild animals were saved from smugglers in a large -scale operation – and hundreds of suspects were arrested.
With an international large -scale operation against illegal trade in wild animals, almost 20,000 living animals were confiscated – including 18 big cats, 33 great apes, more than 12,000 birds and 5,000 turtles. Hundreds of thousands of parts or products from protected animals and plants were also confiscated, the International Police Organization Interpol said.
As part of the operation called “Thunder”, 365 suspects were arrested worldwide, said Interpol in a statement. Six international networks that are suspected of acting illegally with protected animals and plants and more than 100 companies, which were also involved in the trade, were also identified.
Animals should be released again
Interpol said that the confiscated animals were taken DNA samples that were necessary for the legal procedures. They came in protective centers. If they were healthy, they would be brought back home and released.
The “Thunder” operation had already taken place last November and December. According to Interpol, a record number of 138 countries, as many as since the first of these missions in 2017, did not participate in the majority of several weeks. The coordinated missions are organized once a year by Interpol, the World Customs Organization and the Washington Species Protection Agreement (CITES).
Kept as luxury pets
Illegally traded animals would be kept as luxury pets or also consumed because of their supposedly medical effect, explained Interpol. The criminal networks “indicated nature to feed the human greed,” emphasized Interpol General Secretary Valdecy Urquiza. The consequences are enormous: “This leads to a loss of biodiversity, destroys communities, contributes to climate change and stirs up conflicts and instability.”
