HomeNewsBrief58,000 Trafficked Animals Seized Annually in Colombia
BRIEF

58,000 Trafficked Animals Seized Annually in Colombia

COLOMBIA / 28 NOV 2013 BY NATALIE SOUTHWICK EN

Experts have revealed the extent of illegal wildlife trafficking in Colombia, highlighting an underreported but lucrative income source for criminal organizations, only exceeded by drugs, arms and human trafficking.

About 160 illegally trafficked animals are seized daily in Colombia, reported El Espectador, totaling more than 58,000 per year. The animals are most commonly recovered in the departments of Sucre, Valle del Cauca, Cordoba, Santander and Bolivar, with most species originating from the Amazon, the southern border, the Pacific coast or the eastern plains, reported RCN Radio.

See Also: Coverage of Eco-Trafficking 

Claudia Brieva, an animal rehabilitation expert at Colombia's National University, said many people believe they are "saving" the animals or want them as pets. Some of the most commonly trafficked animals are turtles, caimans, iguanas, boa constrictors and parrots.

Map showing where animals are sourced and taken

InSight Crime Analysis

According to Interpol and the United Nations Environmental Programme, wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated $15 to 20 billion annually, making it the world's fourth largest illegal trade, after drugs, human trafficking and the arms trade. In 2012 alone, Colombian authorities rescued more than 46,000 illegally trafficked animals. It is far from the only source for the trade: over the last two years a shipment leaving Paraguay contained more than 3,500 animals, while thousands of animals have also been rescued from Bolivia, and Brazil last year launched its own anti-animal trafficking operations.

Despite the trade's enormous earning potential, relatively little is known about organizations behind global wildlife trafficking, due partly to the fact that it does not generate the same high levels of violence as the drug trade and arms or human trafficking.

According to the UN report, the same routes used to move drugs and weapons are often used to smuggle animals. Yet, to some extent, animal trafficking requires a greater deal of sophistication than that of drugs or weapons because of the care required to keep animals alive throughout the journey. This suggests a high level of organization and expertise is involved in the trade.

The market for trafficked wildlife is also not totally understood. Exotic pets may be status symbols or novelty items for some people, but black market demand for products like reptile skins and turtle eggs connects these networks to a larger global consumer market.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 1 NOV 2021

Long-time leader, Otoniel, President Iván Duque said the gang's "days were numbered." But is that accurate?…

COLOMBIA / 6 MAY 2022

After the Urabeños’ former leader, alias Otoniel, was extradited to the United States this week, the group ordered a show…

COLOMBIA / 4 JUL 2022

While the death of Iván Márquez is yet to be confirmed, his passing would mark a major turning point in…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…