The exotic exporters

05:55 AM Jun 19, 2009

BOGOTA - Colombia, one of the world's most biologically diverse countries, has begun selling rare animals to other countries, a type of "biocommerce" viewed with unease by environmentalists.

The fledgling exports of exotic local fauna - especially butterflies, beetles, fish and frogs - to countries like the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates is being undertaken by 1,250 small Colombian companies, according to figures kept by the state-run Export Promotion Fund.

One of these firms, Tierra Viva - whose name means "live earth" - raises beetles and sells them alive or dead.

Mr German Viasus, its manager, said that after going through lots of red tape he can now profit from the trade. "After decades in which Colombia lost unique species to illegal trafficking, and in which they were exposed to mistreatment due to the clandestine nature of the trade, companies like ours began to think about raising them and exporting them legally, which has turned out to be a good business," he said.

"We export beetles mainly to Japan ... but we've begun to receive orders from the United Arab Emirates where one of the sheikhs is a fanatic about these marvellous exemplars and made an initial order for 1,000," he added.

Alas de Colombia legally breeds and exports butterflies in Colombia. AFP

Collectors and entrepreneurs from countries of the Far East, like South Korea and China, meanwhile, buy fish from the eastern plains of Colombia through a fisherman's cooperative, Coopesca, whose manager is Mr Jose Arturo Gomez.

For every manta ray they catch in the Orotoy River, local fishermen get no more than 50 US cents (73 cents), but in the Far East they fetch more than US$80 each, Mr Gomez said.

Parallel to the above ground commerce in exotic animals is an illegal trade, which Ms Maria Sanchez, the coordinator of the Environmental Police, said is managed by a powerful international network.

In 2008 alone, the Colombian authorities confiscated 54,000 exotic animals intended for sale both inside and outside the country.

"Despite campaigns to raise awareness, rural populations continue to sell species without regard for climate, which results in many of them dying in captivity," she said. "They are bought and sold in popular markets without any kind of restraint or control." AFP

From TODAY, World – Friday, 19-Jun-2009