Criminal networks poach millions of birds, tropical fish, turtles and mammals from the Brazilian Amazon region. The animals, many endangered, end up being traded domestically or internationally. The worst is the smuggling of river turtle eggs, despite international trade in all Amazon river turtles and land tortoises being regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Within Brazil and neighbouring countries, turtles and turtle eggs are illegally harvested and traded to be used as traditional medicine, for the pet trade, as decorative items (shells), and for consumption as food,” states the report by UK-based organisation “Traffic”. The full report can be downloaded from their website, here. 
Source: Mongabay.com Photo: Cláudio Luiz Castro on Unsplash
© Sitara Morgenster
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