Hugh Bollinger / Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bear paw and elk lips stir-fry

Next to drugs, wildlife trafficking is the second largest source of illegal trade in the world. From Burmese orchids to painted box turtles from Madagascar to palm cockatoos chicks from Australia, the illicit trade in rare plants and animals is a huge and growing business. It is also sending many species towards extinction. The New York Times reported that a major haul of animal parts-- assorted bear paws, lynx furs, and 143lbs of elk lips --were seized from a truck ready to cross into China from Siberia. The illegal cargo heading for China weighed 1.4 tons. “China is a vacuum cleaner for Siberian wildlife,” -- where bear paws and elk lips are considered a food delicacy -- according to Aleksei L. Vaisman, a senior coordinator for Traffic Europe-Russia. [caption id="attachment_4651" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Siberian wildlife smuggling source: Russian media"]

[/caption] Attitudes in Asia will need to change if we ever hope to bring this destructive trade under control. Next time you're in a restaurant in China, it might worth passing on the Bear Paw and Elk Lips stir-fry of Tiger Penis soup. WHB

A rant about rats and politicians Photo credit: Landsat

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Tags: New York Times Siberia tiger penis soup wildlife smuggling wildlife trafficking

Bear paw and elk lips stir-fry

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