BOGOTA, December 3, 2021, (Reuters) – Colombian authorities seized hundreds of creepy crawlies as they were being taken illegally to Europe via the airport in capital city Bogota, officials said on Thursday.
Two German citizens were found with 210 plastic containers they were using to carry the arachnids, which included 232 tarantula spiders, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, as well as 67 roaches.
Colombia, which is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries and boasts tens of thousands of different species, is a target for wildlife traffickers drawn by its biodiversity.
More than 11,000 specimens have been seized during 2021 so far, officials said.
“We haven’t had a shipment of tarantulas this size since 2018 (and) the largest we have had this year was shark fins,” Bogota’s environment secretary, Carolina Urrutia, said in a statement.
In September Colombian authorities confiscated a shipment of 3,493 shark fins – equivalent to between 900 and 1,000 sharks – which were to be illegally trafficked to Hong Kong.
The would-be German traffickers argued that they were shipping the spiders, scorpions and cockroaches for academic reasons but authorities said they did not have the permits to do so.
The animals are being examined by professionals, officials said, who will later decide whether to free or relocate them.
Source: Reuters
Woman climber dies while off-limits at Popocatepetl volcanoA woman mountain climber in Mexico.
Seven bodies found in Chikindzonot could be the persons reported missing near ChetumalSeven bodies were found in a.
2 systems threaten the Yucatan Peninsula: 1 in the Gulf, 1 in the AtlanticThe National Hurricane Center has its.
Yucatecan Educational community stands out at the national level with socially responsible projectsStudents and teachers from Yucatan stand.
Yucatan within the seven fastest-growing state economies in MexicoThe INEGI indicated that the manufacturing.
The growth of the manufacturing industry continues in YucatanResult of the joint work between.
Banxico accelerates the pace of its interest rateMexico’s central bank accelerated the pace.
Peninsular Electric Expo is inaugurated by Governor Vila Dosal at Merida’s Siglo XXIDuring the first edition of the.
President Joe Biden condemns Supreme Court abortion rulingWASHINGTON DC — In sharp and.
Grupo Xcaret’s Xibalbá Park in Valladolid is still in stand by due to environmental reasonsThe controversy surrounding the construction of.
Leave a Comment