[Animals] Rescued a lion cub and three spider monkeys: four arrested for illegal trafficking of exotic animals in Mexico City

[Draeno]

 

The Mexico City police arrested four people on Thursday at the Venustiano Carranza City Hall for illegal trafficking of exotic animals. The agents made the arrests in two different operations: one planned in the Merced Balbuena neighborhood, where they rescued a lion cub; and another in Tepito, in the Morelos neighborhood, where they found a man selling spider monkeys in the huge street market.

The three detainees (26, 34 and 52 years old) in the Merced Balbuena neighborhood were transporting the lion cub in a gray cage. The agents began the surveillance operation after receiving several citizen complaints, in which they warned of the presence of a group "generating violence." "[The three detainees took the lion out of the cage] and began to beat it, however, upon noticing the police presence, they adopted a nervous attitude," the authority said in a statement. Those arrested did not have the necessary permits for ownership and transfer of the animal, so they could incur in a case of illegal trafficking.

The person in charge of the Natural Resources Office, Rodolfo Vilchis, spoke to this newspaper about the importance of having permits: “The authorizations must be in order. Otherwise, the people who are going to acquire a specimen may be accomplices in wildlife trafficking.”

The agents detained another 41-year-old man during their surveillance work in Tepito. The man tried to sell visitors three spider monkeys in the vicinity of the market that occupies the streets of the rough neighborhood. He also did not have the necessary documentation.

The four rescued animals were transferred to environmental authorities, and those arrested were brought before the Prosecutor's Office. The situation is one of the signs of the normalization of the illegal trafficking of exotic animals in Mexico City, where it is common to find exotic species in the markets spread throughout the territory. Mexico is also facing the illegal trafficking of species through social networks, where it is easy to find pages and advertisements offering everything from jaguars (an endangered species) to falcons. Sometimes advertisers back the lack of permits at the cheapest price.

 

https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-05-26/rescatados-un-cachorro-leon-y-tres-monos-arana-cuatro-detenidos-por-trafico-ilegal-de-animales-exoticos-en-ciudad-de-mexico.html