Colorado Beekeeper, Tom Theobald comments on the EPA’s letter dated, February 18, 2011. Tom’s comments are in blue font.
Wildlife
WildLife conservation and preservation articles and information.
Indonesia Cracks Down on Illegal Cyber Trade of Endangered Wildlife
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today a successful raid in Jakarta by Indonesian authorities that resulted in the arrest of a suspect found with hundreds of illegal wildlife items, including elephant ivory, sun bear parts, tiger bones, skins, and teeth, and more.
The suspect was trading from an art shop and using the internet to advertise illegal wildlife parts to domestic and foreign buyers. Parts appear to have been sourced from across Indonesia and were being shipped using courier services.
The internet is a growing medium for the sale of illegal wildlife parts and is proliferating in Indonesia, which now has over 30 million internet users and has the world’s second largest Facebook following.
How The Coral Reef Wildlife Trade Is Degrading Coral Reefs
There is another big problem facing marine life. It is being done for the sake of fashion and exotic home décor, which is a $330 million dollar industry. An estimated 70-90% of marine aquariums are collected illegally using poisonous cyanide. Other poisons such as bleach, formalin, and gasoline are also used. This not only reduces biodiversity but also removes key components of the reef ecosystem, including algae grazers, which help maintain ecosystem health. Coral reefs contain some of the largest diversity of life in the world. They are home to thousands of different plants and animals.