87 Wild Animals Discovered in Luggage During Exotic Pet Smuggling Bust

The smuggling of wild animals is one of the largest black markets in the world. Animals are smuggled for various reasons, including for their fur, to be sold as meat, or to be sold in the exotic pet trade.

On Monday six people were reportedly arrested in Thailand after trying to smuggle 87 animals, including an endangered red panda, in their luggage by Thailand's Customs Department.

Five men and one woman were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday for "trying to smuggle animals" internationally. The party was reportedly heading to Mumbai, India.

According to Thai Enquirer, the animals seized comprised 29 lizards, such as black-throated monitors; 21 snakes, including corn snakes and red bamboo rat snakes; 15 birds, such as the bird of paradise and parrots; 7 monitors; 4 chameleons; 2 squirrels; 2 bats; 2 cotton-top tamarins; 1 tigerfish; 1 red panda; 1 Sulawesi bear cuscus; 1 frog; and 1 rat.

Why the Exotic Pet Smuggling Trade is a Big Issue

CNN received a statement from director of TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia office Kanitha Krishnasamy that stated that the organization had seen a , "very active and persistent level of trafficking of live animals between Southeast Asia and South Asia.”

Krishnasamy said that this includes a “string of cases of live wild animal smuggling via air” between Thailand and India in recent years, with “busts taking place in both countries since early 2022.”

Krishnasamy suggested that the increase in attempted wildlife trafficking into India is due to a “growing fad” of exotic pets, including kangaroos, cuscus and red pandas.

Smuggled animals are often subjected to inhumane treatment, cramped living conditions, and long journeys without access to food, water, or proper veterinary care, like the animals that were shoved in suitcases and wicker baskets in this case. Young animals are often snatched from their mothers in the wild when they are far too young to be weaned. Not only that, but the smuggling of wild animals contributes to the decline of endangered species by removing these animals from their natural habitats. Couple that with the fact that wild animals can be dangerous, and most veterinarians aren't equipped to deal with animals that are found in the wild, and there's absolutely no reason for these creatures to be sold as pets.

National Geographic explains that "The exotic pet business also affects humans and animals not involved in the trade. Wild animals have the potential to attack their owners or spread disease, such as ebola and SARS. An outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease (END), which resulted in the deaths of 12 million birds in the U.S. in the 1970s, was traced to parrots smuggled from South America."

Thank goodness customs seized these animals before they were sold as pets. I can't even imagine how frightened they were being transported in such inhumane conditions.

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