"Colombian butterflies to the world"
Mike Quinn
Mike.Quinn at tpwd.state.tx.us
Thu Feb 1 12:05:36 EST 2001
Colombia Wants to Be Monarch of Butterfly World
Updated 12:27 PM ET January 26, 2001
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia, known for being the world's No. 1
exporter of cocaine, wants to turn to a far less menacing business -- exotic
butterflies.
The Commerce Ministry said on Thursday it had signed a decree to promote the
selling of live butterflies and butterfly cocoons overseas.
Riven by a 36-year civil war, Colombians export about 500 tons of cocaine a
year, mostly to the United States.
But the South American nation of sweeping Andean ranges and thick jungles is
also home to some 3,000 different types of butterflies.
And a live butterfly can fetch between 50 cents and $8 overseas, depending
on its size and variety, according to the ministry's estimates. A cocoon can
get between 30 cents and $5.
Under the plan -- called "Colombian butterflies to the world" -- 1,200
butterfly breeding houses have been built.
http://news.excite.com/news/r/010126/12/odd-butterflies-dc
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