Giraffe bones, canned whale meat and a monkey skull were among items seized by the Department of Conservation (DOC) during an international crackdown on wildlife crime.
DOC says Operation Thunder 2020 involved 103 countries in a coordinated push against the illegal trade of wildlife.
The operation ran from 14 September to 11 October and was organised by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation.
Participating countries focused on the trade of vulnerable species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an agreement aimed at ensuring the international trade in animals and plants does not threaten their survival in the wild.
Operation Thunder 2020 resulted in global seizures of more than 45,000 live animals and plants. A total of 699 offenders were apprehended with further arrests and prosecutions anticipated.
DOC Endangered Species Officer, Jan McKeown coordinated New Zealand’s involvement in the operation.
“Even with the New Zealand border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still experiencing a continuous illegal influx of unpermitted protected wildlife,” she said.
“The ability to purchase internationally online is not a guarantee your purchase can be legally imported into New Zealand – please do your background research before pushing the ‘buy now’ button.”
In New Zealand, DOC focused operational efforts on items coming through mail, freight and cargo. DOC reported 53 seizures of illegally traded wildlife during the operation. Items also included whale teeth, a crocodile skin knife sheath, dried shark meat and some traditional Chinese medicine products.
Seven infringement notices have been issued for fines between $600 and $800. DOC is also pursuing prosecution against a small number of illegal importers of wildlife products.
DOC Principal Compliance Officer, Dylan Swain, also Chairman of the Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group, says DOC works closely with other agencies overseas to identify and take action against importers and exporters of illegal wildlife products.
“Wildlife crime is the fourth largest illegal trade in the world, and by participating in operations such as this we can help protect not only our own species, but also those animals and plants endangered by illegal trade internationally,” he says.
Other international seizures include 187 raw elephant tusks in Cameroon; an adult female white tiger, a jaguar and a four-month-old lion cub rescued from smugglers in Mexico; and an 18-tonne shipment of red sandalwood seized in India.
Anyone uncertain about items they can or cannot import can check on the DOC’s CITES webpage.
To report any suspected illegal activity relating to wildlife, ring the DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
