In January of this year, the BBC reported that moves are afoot to curb the trafficking of wildlife in Brazil – a country with one of the richest varieties of animal species in the world.

According to the BBC, studies produced for the Brazilian government suggest that an estimated
10 million animals are being taken from their natural habitats each year. There’s no confirmation of this figure, but 50,000 animals are rescued by the authorities each year – and it’s believed that this represents only a small percentage of those taken by traffickers.

It’s known that animals are often transported in horrific conditions, and many are believed to die before they reach their destination. Animal rights groups say the law has been weakened in recent years and that the government needs to do more.

An official advertising campaign has now been launched in Brazil. Advertisements show graphic images of dead animals, accompanied by the following message to the public: This happens because you buy. Legislation will be tightened and the number of inspectors on the ground will be increased.

Luiz Nelio Palheta, an analyst with IBAMA (the Brazilian Ministry for the Environment), says that the transportation of animals taken from the wild often has devastating consequences. “What we see is inadequate conditions – many animals in small containers end up dying,” he says. “We have a level of mortality that for every animal that is saved or ends up being sold, 40 or 50 die.”

Marcelo Rocha of the NGO, SOS Fauna, makes another valid point: “From the moment you take these animals out of nature,” he explains, “you leave the ecosystem unbalanced, and we humans need the ecosystem to be balanced for our own survival ”

Even when animals are rescued from the trade, there are still significant problems to be overcome. Many are recovered thousands of kilometres from their natural habitat, and there are often inadequate resources to care for them and to return them to the wild.

Animal trafficking yields enormous profits – through sales in street markets, or the export of rarer species to Europe and the United States. The animals are sold as pets, or to private collectors. Some are sold for their feathers or skins. Worse still is the fact that some are sold for research. If arrests are made, however, fines are said to be too small to have an impact on a crime with such a devastating effect on the wildlife of Brazil.

The Brazilian environment minister, Carlos Minc, told the BBC: “The law is there to deal with crime but unfortunately it needs to be improved.” According to the government, the number of animals under threat of extinction has nearly trebled in the last two decades to more than 600, and trafficking is partly to blame. Bringing it under control will, says the report, involve an enormous challenge, since the illegal trade in wild animals is superceded in terms of profits only by the trade in drugs and arms.

To read the full report, visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7789327.stm