Fwd: [MassLep] illegal trafficking

[Avian Pursuits Nature Tours]

I'd like to add a note to this...

I, like many others, like to post photos of butterflies and other wildlife seen 
during travels. I use flickr.com, and there are several other photo sites. I 
once had a photo of a tarantula from Panama. I was contacted by a person who 
asked me to remove location information from the photo because it was a somewhat 
coveted species (by illegal collectors, for example). The location info could be 
used by them to find that site and hire locals to collect all of that kind of 
spider they could find. I removed the photo.
Perhaps those of us who use photo websites should keep this in mind before 
posting anything we know is rare.
 David Trently 
Avian Pursuits Nature Tours 
...come see the real world!
Knoxville, TN 
http://avianpursuits.com/




________________________________
From: Neil Jones <neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk>
To: masslep at googlegroups.com
Cc: Leps List <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Wed, April 13, 2011 2:24:39 PM
Subject: Fwd: [MassLep]  illegal trafficking

 
Thank you for posting this. It is absolutely fascinating. I have     just 
listened to the broadcast
and it is really good.

Neil Jones
neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk 
-------- Original Message -------- 
Subject: [MassLep] 
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:28:16 -0400 
From: Mark Lynch <moa.lynch at verizon.net> 
Reply-To: moa.lynch at verizon.net 
To: Massbird <massbird at world.std.com> 


The illegal trafficking in ultra rare species of butterflies is a big business, 
with CITES listed species going for many thousands of dollars a pop. The people 
who are successful in this type of smuggling are masterminds of deception and 
cunning, running an international business just like a drug cartel. JESSICA 
SPEART, a freelance journalist specializing in wildlife enforcement issues, has 
traced the bizarre cat and mouse game that was played over years between the 
‘Indiana Jones” of butterfly smuggling and a dedicated, hardworking officer of 
law enforcement for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In the middle 
of the interview, Speart talks about the eventual busting of a group of pigeon 
fanciers who had for years been willfully been trapping and killing and horribly 
torturing RAPTORS of all species. It's a depressing and disgusting story that 
needs to be told.  This is a thrilling, revealing and deeply frightening expose 
of the world of a small group of unscrupulous men who would sell the planet’s 
biodiversity to the highest bidder. Speart’s book is titled WINGED OBSESSION: 
THE PURSUIT OF THE WORLD’S MOST NOTORIUS BUTTERFLY SMUGGLER.  NB: the first 
minute is a bit distorted to to a PC malfucntion. Ah, computers!  To listen to 
this show, go to:  http://wicn.org/audio/inquiry-jessica-speart-winged-obsession  
Mark Lynch WICN moa.lynch at verizon.net  --  You received this message because you 
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